By F. Scott Faulkner
September 17, 2024 – Santa Barbara County, CA
On the morning of Aug. 1, 2024, a car driven by Edith Gomez Camarillo, a 20-year-old Santa
Maria resident, was traveling at a high rate of speed when it entered a signal-controlled
intersection. Failing to yield to a red light, Camarillo’s car sped into the intersection and
slammed into the passenger side of a car driven by 68-year-old Randall Kern.
Kern’s wife Marichu Kern, 55, was riding in the front passenger seat at the time of impact.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Kern were, according to the Santa Maria Police Department spokesman Sgt.
Andy Brice, were “killed as a result of the crash.”
The immediately ensuing investigation by SMPD’s traffic investigators concluded that “Camarillo’s failure to stop at the light was a key factor” in the fatal crash.
For the following five weeks, authorities continued to collect evidence and witness statements regarding the deadly
accident which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant naming Camarillo as its subject on
September 16, whereupon she was contacted by SMPD detectives and taken into custody.
Camarillo was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was booked on two counts of
vehicular manslaughter with her bail set at $100,000.
