The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Nov. 4 to extend a $20,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man accused of drunkenly crashing his vehicle into a family home in Long Beach three years ago, killing a father and young daughter.
“On top of the unimaginable pain of losing a father and his young daughter, Jose and Samantha’s loved ones have had to live with the frustration of knowing who was responsible for their deaths but still being denied justice,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a public statement. “We are asking anyone who may have any information on where Octavio is or where he may have gone to please share it with detectives.”
On March 1, 2022, Long Beach Police Department officers responded to a report of a vehicle crashing into an apartment building near Artesia Boulevard and Rose Avenue around 10 p.m. The driver, who police believe was then-24-year-old Octavio Montano Islas, fled before police arrived at the crash site.
Jose Palacios-Gonzalez, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his three-year-old daughter, Samantha Palacios, was transported to a local hospital where she later died from her injuries.
Police believe Montano Islas was intoxicated and driving a 2014 Dodge Ram at the time of the crash. An arrest warrant has been issued for Montano Islas for two counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony driving under the influence, and one count of felony hit and run.
The motion to extend the reward was proposed by Hahn. The reward was initially set at $10,000 and was increased to $20,000 in August 2025.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Commander Scott Jenson of the Long Beach Police Department Detective Division at 562-570-7218.
