Hahn Extends $20,000 Reward in 2022 Death of Child and her Father in North LB Crash

LOS ANGELES— The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Nov. 4 approved a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn to extend the county’s $20,000 reward in exchange for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of Octavio Montano Islas, who was identified as the drunk driver responsible for the deaths of 42-year-old Jose Palacios-Gonzalez and his three-year-old daughter Samantha Palacios as they slept in their North Long Beach apartment. The reward had previously been established at $10,000 until the Board approved a motion by Hahn to increase the amount to the current $20,000 in August. 

Around 10 p.m. on March 1, 2022, Long Beach Police Department officers responded to a collision of a vehicle into an apartment building near the intersection of Artesia Boulevard and Rose Avenue. Jose Palacios-Gonzalez was declared deceased at the scene, while Samantha was rushed to a local hospital but later succumbed to her injuries. LBPD detectives identified the driver, who fled the scene, as Montano Islas, who was 24 years old at the time.

The vehicle that Montano Islas was driving was a 2014 Dodge Ram. Detectives believe Montano Islas was drunk at the time of the crash. An arrest warrant was issued for him on two counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony driving under the influence, and one count of felony hit and run.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Scott Jenson of the Long Beach Police Department Detective Division at 562-570-7218.