{"id":19085,"date":"2026-06-30T22:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19085"},"modified":"2026-06-30T22:31:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:31:54","slug":"hawthorne-man-remains-jailed-in-405-freeway-crash-that-killed-lapd-officer-and-another-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19085","title":{"rendered":"Hawthorne man remains jailed in 405 Freeway crash that killed LAPD officer and another driver"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Hawthorne man made his first court appearance Tuesday on murder charges stemming from a 2025 crash on the 405 Freeway near Bel-Air that killed a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant and another motorist.<\/p>\n

Read more Palisades fire arson prosecutors say they\u2019ll retry the case, but should they?<\/a><\/p>\n

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle ordered Mario Joseph Bickham, 36, to remain jailed in lieu of $4 million bail while awaiting arraignment Aug. 11 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.<\/p>\n

Bickham was arrested and charged Monday with two counts of murder stemming from the crash, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m. June 23, 2025, on the southbound 405 Freeway just north of Moraga Drive. The crash killed 53-year-old LAPD Sgt. Shiou Deng and 34-year-old Jesus Garcia.<\/p>\n

In a court filing, Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall wrote that the data recorder from the 2023 Nissan Maxima showed Bickham was driving at 112.5 mph five seconds before the crash and that he applied \u201chard brakes\u201d in the seconds leading up to the collision, but crashed into the patrol car, Garcia\u2019s disabled Toyota and the two men.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor contended that Bickham \u2014 whom he alleged has a driving history that is \u201clittered with minor and serious infractions\u201d \u2014 \u201chas shown a pattern of recklessly endangering the public by using his vehicle in a manner extremely dangerous to human life despite repeated warnings\u201d and that \u201che ignored them and continued his dangerous activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosecution\u2019s motion seeking to have the defendant held behind bars without bail is expected to be heard at next month\u2019s court hearing.<\/p>\n

Garcia had just finished his shift at Whole Foods in Woodland Hills and was on his way home when his Toyota pickup was struck on the freeway by a hit-and-run driver, leaving it disabled in the southbound HOV lane. The hit-and-run driver has never been identified or located, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday at a news conference announcing the charges.<\/p>\n

A short time later, while Garcia\u2019s Toyota was disabled, another car swerved to avoid the pickup and wound up striking the freeway median and stopping a few hundred feet away, according to the district attorney.<\/p>\n

Read more California advocates sharply divided on Supreme Court ruling allowing states to ban transgender athletes from school teams<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Deng then arrived on the scene in his patrol vehicle and activated his emergency lights to alert oncoming motorists of the disabled vehicles. Thirty-three other vehicles safely drove past the area without incident before Bickham slammed into the patrol SUV and the sergeant, Hochman said.<\/p>\n

Garcia, who was outside his vehicle, was struck and died at the scene, while Deng was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, where he was pronounced dead. Bickham also suffered major injuries in the crash but survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cSergeant Deng lived his life the way most of us wish we could \u2014with kindness, with humor, and with purpose,\u201d LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at Deng\u2019s funeral last year. \u201cHe didn\u2019t just do the job, he lifted up people doing it beside him. He made people laugh when they needed it most. He made them feel seen, valued and included.\u201d<\/p>\n

If convicted as charged, Bickham faces two potential life prison terms.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Bickham allegedly had multiple prior citations for speeding, including one he received for driving more than 105 mph just one month before the fatal crash on the San Diego Freeway, Hochman said, noting that Bickham was cited in that case and ordered to appear in court, but failed to show up.<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe page created by Garcia\u2019s family described him as \u201ca loving son, brother, uncle and friend whose kindness and warmth touched everyone he met.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to McDonnell, Deng was promoted to sergeant in 2023 and assigned to the department\u2019s West Los Angeles Division. Deng served 26 1\/2 years with the LAPD, with 17 of those years in the LAPD Mental Evaluation Unit.<\/p>\n

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A judge ordered Mario Joseph Bickham, 36, to remain jailed in lieu of $4 million bail. 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