The civil verdict comes nearly four years after a high-speed collision killed Grace Spiridon and Greg Ammen and injured their daughters.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A San Mateo County jury awarded $33 million to twin girls whose parents were killed in a 2022 street-racing crash, concluding a civil trial over the collision that left the children without their mother and father.
The girls, now 11, were 7 when Grace Spiridon, 42, and Greg Ammen, 44, died in the Nov. 4, 2022, crash on El Camino Real in Redwood City. Their daughters were riding with them and survived with injuries. The verdict followed roughly three weeks of testimony examining the conduct of the drivers and whether the parents of one driver shared responsibility for allowing him to drive despite warning signs about his driving history.
Jurors found Cesar Morales, who was 17 at the time of the crash, liable in the wrongful death case. They also found his parents, Arnold Morales and Susana Salto Alvarez, liable for negligent supervision. Kyle Harrison, the other driver involved in the race, also was assigned responsibility. According to the verdict reported by NBC Bay Area, jurors assigned 60% of the fault to Cesar Morales, 20% to Arnold Morales, 5% to Salto Alvarez and 15% to Harrison.
Evidence presented during the civil trial showed Morales was traveling at more than 100 mph before his vehicle struck the family’s car as it turned from El Camino Real near Finger Avenue. The speed limit on that stretch of road was 35 mph. Harrison was driving nearby and did not strike the family’s vehicle, but the plaintiffs argued that he and Morales were racing and that both drivers contributed to the circumstances that led to the collision.
The impact killed Spiridon and Ammen at the scene. Their daughters survived and were later taken in by family members. Their maternal aunt, Liza Spiridon, and her husband became their caregivers, and the girls were later adopted. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the twins in 2023, beginning a civil case that continued after separate proceedings involving the two drivers.
The civil verdict followed years of criminal and juvenile court proceedings. Morales was handled in juvenile court because he was under 18 at the time of the crash. He was found responsible for two felony vehicular manslaughter allegations and street-racing allegations and spent more than two years in juvenile detention. In January 2025, he was ordered to serve 90 days on electronic home monitoring and remain on probation.
Harrison, who was an adult at the time of the crash, pleaded no contest to felony vehicular manslaughter and street-racing charges and received an eight-year prison sentence in February 2025. He was found unresponsive at the Maple Street Correctional Center the following month and was pronounced dead. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office later determined that he died from the toxic effects of several drugs and ruled the death accidental.
The $33 million civil award includes economic and noneconomic damages connected to the deaths of the girls’ parents. The amount represents a civil judgment and is separate from the penalties imposed in the criminal and juvenile cases. It was not immediately clear how the award would be divided or how much could ultimately be collected from the defendants.
Attorney Niall McCarthy, who represented the girls’ family, said the verdict followed evidence about decisions made before the night of the crash. Jurors heard that Morales previously had been cited for driving at more than 100 mph and for using a cellphone while driving. His parents testified that they did not know about citations that had been mailed to their home. Attorneys for Morales and his family had argued that his parents should not be held responsible for the crash.
Liza Spiridon said after the verdict that the outcome offered the family clarity rather than closure. The family’s focus remains on raising the girls and honoring their parents, while questions remain about how much of the $33 million judgment can be recovered. McCarthy said immediately after the verdict that it was too early to determine how much the defendants could pay.
Author note: Last updated August 13, 2026.