Overview
- The June 26, 2022 crash on International Boulevard killed 28-year-old Lolomania “Lolo” Soakai when a motorcycle launched in a multi-vehicle collision and landed on him while he ate at a taco truck, and several relatives suffered serious injuries.
- The city quietly reached a $17 million agreement with Soakai’s mother and relatives in late July 2026 to resolve wrongful-death and civil-rights claims, with formal payment contingent on Oakland City Council approval scheduled for September.
- Two officers, Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel, conducted an unauthorized so-called “ghost pursuit” without notifying dispatch or using lights and sirens, left the scene after the crash and were heard making joking remarks on bodycam footage; both resigned from the department in 2025.
- The fleeing driver, Arnold Linaldi, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to vehicular manslaughter, received a two-year state prison sentence, and is currently on parole.
- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case, a rare outcome that cleared the path for the suit and could affect future legal liability for police pursuits while creating significant fiscal and policy pressure on the city.