The family of a woman found dead inside her vehicle more than a month after it was towed to a San Diego impound lot, filed a lawsuit this week against the city.
Monica Liliana Cameroni de Adams’ parked van was struck by an intoxicated driver on Nov. 5, 2023, but it wasn’t until Dec. 6 when her decomposing body was discovered at the tow yard.
The complaint, which also names the San Diego Police Department, among others. claims Cameroni de Adams had “severe, but survivable” injuries, but responding police officers and towing employees did not look inside her van.
They instead had it transported to the tow yard, leaving her “trapped and entombed inside her vehicle,” according to attorneys.
Her family filed a missing persons report soon after she didn’t respond to birthday wishes they sent on Nov. 13, according to the lawsuit.
The intoxicated driver, Jordan Maximilian Lopez, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. He was criminally charged by local prosecutors, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to probation with a suspended six-year prison sentence earlier this year.
According to the lawsuit, it wasn’t until October 2024 that the family received the medical examiner’s report regarding Cameroni de Adams’ death and learned that police or tow employees “were involved in causing the death of Ms. Cameroni de Adams.”
The complaint alleges police and the tow employees were negligent in transporting her vehicle without examining the interior, while Lopez is accused of negligent driving. The police are further accused of failing to properly train employees and negligent hiring, supervision and retention.
