Sheriff’s deputy involved in fatal Palmdale crash identified
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department on Friday identified the deputy involved in a traffic collision last month in Palmdale that left two people dead.
Deputy Kamal Jannah, a six-year department veteran, was driving the patrol car, said Capt. Don Ford. Jannah is based at the Palmdale sheriff station, where he has been assigned to non-driving duties until the completion of the CHP traffic investigation, he said.
The Dec. 14 collision occurred at Avenue R and 17th Street, where the patrol vehicle broadsided a 1994 Ford Explorer that was carrying four passengers.
CHP Officer Gil Hernandez said the SUV was traveling north on 17th Street, and the sheriff’s patrol car was heading east on Avenue R.
“For unknown reasons,” the SUV drove “directly in front of the” patrol car, according to a CHP statement released at the time of the crash. The patrol car broadsided the SUV, causing it to spin out and eject two passengers onto the roadway, the statement read.
Coroner officials identified the crash victims as Sara Paynter, 20, of Van Nuys, and Robert Delgadillo, 31, of Palmdale. Neither was wearing a seat belt, Hernandez told The Times. Two other passengers refused medical attention.
Jannah, 36, was also taken to Antelope Valley Hospital for moderate injuries.
Authorities said the deputy was responding to a call about a fight nearby that did not warrant the use of sirens or lights.
The crash is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, Ford said.
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