Families of 2 killed in South LA pursuit crash announce plans for legal action

Families plan wrongful death suit after 2 killed in South LA pursuit crash

Jamarae Keyes and Janisha Harris were killed back in August when a driver was fleeing a police chase in South LA. Their families recently announced their plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

LOS ANGELES - High-profile attorney Ben Crump and his team announced plans Wednesday to pursue legal action following the deaths of two people whose car was struck by a driver fleeing from a Los Angeles Police Department pursuit.

The families of Janisha Harris, 35, and Jamarae Keyes, 38, believe LAPD is responsible for their deaths.

"LAPD needs to pay for this. I can't even sleep at night. My son is gone. I only had one child and he's gone from me. I don't wish this on anyone," said Sandra Green, the mother of Keyes.

Crump and his team, including attorney Dale Galipo and attorney Jasmine Mines, said they will soon file a claim and a lawsuit. They said the lawsuit will be filed against all parties responsible for the crash, but did not yet specify which parties.

"The next step is to file a claim and after that a lawsuit so it's early on but it's going to be interesting for us to review the statistics on the number of pursuits," said Galipo.

Crump said the team first wants to talk to the Los Angeles City Council.

"The next thing that we plan on doing is getting on the agenda for the city council meeting to talk about these high-speed pursuits in the Black community and that's going to be a basis for what we do federally," said Crump.

The attorneys said the claim will be for wrongful death damages and survival damages.

After public pressure, the LAPD released the dash camera video of the August chase.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LAPD releases video of police chase crash that killed 2 innocent people

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: After weeks of public pressure, the Los Angeles Police Department released dash camera video of the police chase crash that killed two innocent people in South Los Angeles.

Initially, LAPD said there was no pursuit. However, the police report itself stated a patrol unit was in pursuit of the suspect vehicle at the time of the crash.

The widow of one of the victims, Tanya Keyes, believes the LAPD was trying to "fabricate" what happened, calling it a coverup.

"There was a lie to begin with. We want to make sure the ending of this result will not be a lie, that there will be justice. Therefore they will understand what's happening in the community as far as police chases that need to cease," said Keyes.

LAPD maintains the officers following the suspect vehicle wanted for speeding had backed off shortly before the crash. In the video, LAPD explained the officers turned off their police vehicle's emergency lights and siren.

Keyes is survived by his widow, Tanya Keyes, and five children, four of which are minors. Harris is survived by two minor children.

One of Harris' children, Niarie Hunter, spoke at the press conference.

"My mom was a great person. Anything we asked for, she made sure she would do it. It's just sad that I gotta wake up knowing that my mom is not here, and I can't talk to my mom," said Hunter.