$10K reward for information approved to capture alleged hit-and-run driver that killed Long Beach man, young daughter
County officials approved a reward for information leading to the arrest of a man identified as the hit-and-run driver who killed a man and his young daughter by crashing into their apartment as they slept inside.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a $10,000 reward for information in the hit-and-run crash that killed 42-year-old Jose Gonzalez and his 3-year-old daughter, Samantha. The pair were sleeping inside their Long Beach apartment when a Ram pickup truck smashed into the building on March 1.
"The Palacios family has been devastated by this hit-and-run crash that took the lives of a man and his young daughter," Supervisor Janice Hahn, who introduced the motion for the reward, said in a statement.
Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene. Samantha was taken to a hospital, where she died, Hahn's office said.
Police identified the driver as 24-year-old Octavio Montano Islas. He allegedly ran away from the scene immediately after the crash. An arrest warrant for two counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony driving under the influence, and one count of felony hit-and-run has been issued for Islas' arrest.
Montano Islas is described as a 5-foot-8, 150-pound Hispanic man with black hair, brown eyes, and tattoos on his right forearm.
Anyone with information about Montano Islas can call Long Beach police Detective Kevin Johansen at (562) 570-7335.
