Man Pleads Guilty in Death of Motorist

A 37-year-old homeless man pleaded guilty Tuesday to leading police on a high-speed chase that resulted in the death of a retired aerospace mechanic from Simi Valley.

Luis Espinoza Rodriguez pleaded guilty in a Simi Valley courtroom to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, willful flight from a pursuing officer that resulted in death, and vehicle theft, according to court records.

He faces more than 14 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 3.

Bill Kremper, known to his friends and family as “Honest Bill,” was returning home from Ventura on June 17 when his Mustang convertible was rear-ended by a 1968 Pontiac GTO being driven by Rodriguez.

Rodriguez had stolen the car in Thousand Oaks and was leading police on a chase that reached speeds of more than 100 mph when the crash occurred in front of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park on Tierra Rejada Road in Simi Valley.

The impact caused Kremper’s car to flip and slam into a telephone pole before coming to rest in a field 75 feet off the roadway. Kremper, 69, died instantly.

“I think he got off too easy. I was married to my husband 50 years. He was in excellent health, he walked 40 to 50 miles a week. I think anybody old enough to steal a car and know better deserves more. I think he should die,” said Geri Kremper, the wife of the victim.

Rodriguez, who told police he had been living on the streets of Thousand Oaks at the time, fled the scene but was immediately apprehended.