Prosecutors said the driver was traveling more than 112 mph when he struck an LAPD patrol SUV and two men on the 405 Freeway.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A Hawthorne man has been charged with murder in a high-speed crash that killed an LAPD sergeant and a stranded driver on the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center last year, prosecutors announced Monday.
Mario Joseph Bickham, 36, faces two felony counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Shiou Deng, 53, and Jesús Garcia, 34. The charges move the case from crash investigation to criminal prosecution more than a year after the June 23, 2025, collision. Authorities said Deng had stopped to help Garcia after an earlier hit-and-run crash left Garcia’s Toyota pickup disabled in freeway lanes.
The crash happened shortly after 2 a.m. on the southbound 405 Freeway near the Getty Center and Bel-Air. Prosecutors said Garcia was driving home from work when a hit-and-run driver struck his Toyota pickup and left the scene. Another vehicle then crashed into the median barrier while trying to avoid Garcia’s disabled truck. Deng, a 26-year LAPD veteran assigned to the West Los Angeles Division, arrived in a marked patrol SUV, activated his emergency lights and stopped behind the Toyota to warn other drivers. As Deng got out and moved toward the crash scene, prosecutors said Bickham approached at freeway speed and slammed into the patrol vehicle, the disabled truck and both men. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the case showed “an absolutely callous disregard for life.”
California Highway Patrol investigators said Bickham was driving more than 112 mph before impact. CHP Southern Division Chief Chris Margaris said Bickham braked seconds before the collision, but the speed was too great to avoid the crash. Prosecutors said more than 30 other drivers had safely passed the disabled vehicles before Bickham reached the scene. Garcia died at the freeway scene. Deng was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Bickham survived with serious injuries. Authorities have not identified the hit-and-run driver accused of causing the first crash, and that part of the case remains unresolved.
Officials said Bickham’s driving record was a key part of the decision to file murder charges rather than only vehicular manslaughter allegations. Prosecutors said Bickham had a history of excessive speeding, including a citation one month before the deadly crash for driving 105 mph. They said he did not appear in court on that citation. Court records cited by prosecutors also listed earlier collisions dating back years. Hochman said the record showed the crash was not an isolated mistake by a driver who had never reached dangerous speeds before. The defense position was not immediately clear from the public reports announcing the charges.
Deng’s death drew public tributes from city leaders and police officials after the crash. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said Deng served more than 26 years with the department and spent 17 years in the Mental Evaluation Unit, which helps officers respond to people in crisis. Deng was promoted to sergeant in 2023 and later assigned to the West Los Angeles Division. McDonnell said Monday that the case was about more than an arrest and again pointed to Deng’s record of service. “For more than 26 years, Sgt. Deng served the people of Los Angeles with honor, integrity and compassion,” McDonnell said.
Garcia was also remembered by officials as a working man caught in a chain of crashes that began before police arrived. Authorities said he had been driving home from a shift at Whole Foods when the first driver struck his pickup and left. Prosecutors said Garcia was outside his truck when the later collision killed him. The crash closed major lanes of one of Southern California’s busiest freeways during the early-morning investigation and prompted a large police and CHP response. Deng’s funeral was later held at Forest Lawn in Covina, where city and police officials honored him as an officer killed in the line of duty.
Bickham was arrested at his Hawthorne home Monday and was being held as the case moved into court. Prosecutors said each murder count carries a possible sentence of 15 years to life in state prison if Bickham is convicted as charged. Officials said the CHP reconstruction took months and helped establish the alleged speed and sequence of the crash. The next steps include arraignment, bail proceedings and court hearings where prosecutors are expected to present more details from the crash reconstruction and Bickham’s driving history.
The case now stands as a double-murder prosecution tied to a freeway crash that killed both a veteran officer and the driver he had stopped to help. The unidentified hit-and-run driver from the first collision remains a missing piece in the public timeline as the criminal case against Bickham begins.
Author note: Last updated June 30, 2026.