DMV Admits No Probe as Judge Orders Records in Fatal 2022 Crash Case

Overview

• Placer County prosecutors charged Kostas Linardos with felony vehicular manslaughter after a late‑2022 high‑speed crash that killed a 23‑month‑old child.
• Court records show Linardos had at least 16 prior traffic violations, including speeding, reckless driving and street racing, and was involved in at least four earlier collisions.
• The DMV renewed Linardos’s driver’s license roughly a year after charges were filed and resisted releasing records for months until the dispute reached court.
• In court, the DMV’s attorney acknowledged the agency had no records of any investigation into Linardos and said some warning letters are auto‑generated without copies retained.
• A judge ordered the DMV in late January to turn over whatever records it has, and the agency now says it has opened an investigation as data show only about 3,300 negligent‑operator cases versus nearly 56,000 fatal or serious‑injury crashes from 2022 to 2024.