Family of Boxer Killed in Police Chase Seek Damages

The family of boxer Ernesto Magdaleno has filed a lawsuit blaming a Fountain Valley police officer, a suspected robber and a car manufacturer for Magdaleno’s death New Year’s Eve following a high-speed police chase that ended in Huntington Beach.

According to the suit filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court, Officer T. Nguyen “failed to activate the emergency lights and siren” during the 100-mph pursuit that resulted in Magdaleno’s death. Also named in the lawsuit are the city of Fountain Valley, the estate of John Kenneth Bandola Jr., whom Nguyen was chasing, and Chrysler, which manufactured Magdaleno’s Jeep Cherokee.

The 32-year-old boxer, a nationally ranked fighter who was considered a contender for the World Boxing Council’s light-heavyweight title, died after his car was struck by Bandola’s. The chase began when police got a report that the 19-year-old Cypress resident and a female companion had tried to steal camera equipment from a car at a service station 2 1/2 miles away.

Bandola also was killed in the accident.

The lawsuit was filed by the boxer’s widow, Carrie Eloise Magdaleno, and the couple’s two children, Samantha Ann and Joshua Niko Magdaleno, all of whom were in the car with him and sustained minor injuries.

In their lawsuit, the family claims the officer failed to “balance the interests of public safety with law enforcement.” They blame Bandola for running a red light and striking Magdaleno’s car. And they allege the Jeep was not “crash worthy.”

Magdaleno was thrown from his vehicle, landing on a median strip and striking his head on the curb.