Suspect wanted in hit-and-run that left California father, 3-year-old girl dead

Police say suspect was driving too fast, lost control and slammed into the apartment building.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 24-year-old Octavio Montano Islas in the hit-and-run deaths of 42-year-old Jose Palacios-Gonzalez and 3-year-old Samantha Palacios.

Police in Long Beach, Calif., say Octavio Montano Islas, 24, was the man behind the wheel in a hit-and-run crash that left a father and his 3-year-old daughter dead inside their home. 

An arrest warrant has been issued for Islas for two counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony driving under the influence, and one count of felony hit-and-run.

Firefighters responded to an apartment around 10 p.m. March 1 after a 2014 Ram 1500 pickup ran into the building, killing 42-year-old Jose Palacios-Gonzalez and 3-year-old Samantha Palacios.

Palacios-Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene. His daughter Samantha was taken to a hospital, where she later died.

Detectives from the Long Beach Police Department’s Collision Investigation Detail are seeking the public’s help in locating the driver of the 2014 Ram 1500 pickup that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run traffic collision on March 1, 2022. The collision occurred in the 6600 block of Rose Avenue, which resulted in the death of two Long Beach residents – 42-year-old Jose Palacios-Gonzalez and 3-year-old Samantha Palacios. (Long Beach PD)

Anyone with information on Montano’s whereabouts is asked to call LBPD Detective Kevin Johansen at 562-570-7355. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online.

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