CHP Says Deputy Was Not At Fault In Crash That Killed Young Couple

PALMDALE (CBSLA.com) — The family of a 20-year-old woman killed Saturday afternoon in a crash with a sheriff's deputy in Palmdale is asking for justice.

Sara Paynter and her boyfriend, 31-year-old Bobby Delgadillo, were ejected from the SUV they were riding in along Avenue R after a sheriff's deputy collided with them just before 4:30 p.m.

CBS2's Greg Mills, reporting from the scene Sunday, said tensions are still running high and that the victim's families were very upset with the sheriff's department.

Witness accounts conflicted who was at fault and how fast both vehicles were going. Mills reported the CHP said in an initial investigation that the deputy appeared not to be at fault.

Family members struggled with that information as well as consoling each other.

"I can't stay strong, I can't. She was only 20. She's gone," the victim's sister Rebecca Martinez said through tears. "She was so innocent. We want justice for both of them."

Delgadillo, Paynter's boyfriend of three years, lived in Palmdale with his cousin Rosa Hernandez.

"Like I'm not going to wake up to see him sitting on my couch every day, you know. He's gone. They're both gone," said Hernandez. "They're not coming back."

Witnesses told CBS2 on Saturday that the deputy was driving fast and didn't have his lights or siren on.

The CHP, however, said that "For unknown reasons ... [the victims] entered the intersection directly in front of party number one." [Party number one being the sheriff's deputy.]

The patrol car broadsided the SUV causing it to spin out of control. The force of the collision ejected both Paynter and Delgadillo from the vehicle.

Relatives told Mills the occupants of the SUV were headed across Avenue R to go to a nearby liquor store.

Residents of the area pointed out that the intersection is very dangerous and has obstructed views due to light and telephone poles.

They all told Mills they wanted to see a stop light at the busy intersection to help prevent future tragedies.