The wife and step daughter of a local photographer killed in a collision during a police pursuit told an Orange County Superior Court judge Friday about the impact the death had on their family.
Pedro Pantoja Jr., 31, of Diamond Bar was convicted Aug. 23 of second-degree murder, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, unlawful taking of a vehicle and evading a peace officer-reckless driving, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license due to a previous DUI.
Jurors also found true a sentencing-enhancement allegation of inflicting great bodily injury on a woman who was a passenger in his car.
Pantoja’s sentencing on Friday was postponed until Dec. 15.
But Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen heard from the family members of 62-year-old David Kawashima of Orange, who was killed in the collision with Pantoja.
Kawashima was the youngest of three siblings, his wife, Jacqueline McClure, said. He was a “good son,” who worked hard to keep his parents in their home until they died so they wouldn’t have to be placed in a nursing home, she said.
“David had a lot of friends he collected through his life,” she said. “And when he made friends, they were friends forever. … I literally don’t know anyone who didn’t like him.”
Kawashima graduated from UCLA with a history degree and he had a passion for sports, music and photography. He held on to his vintage childhood collection of Hot Wheels, she added.
Kawashima was on his way to shoot an assignment for the city of Irvine on the day he died, she said. He was excited about the prospect of a loosening of the COVID-19 protocols allowing him to return to his photography more, she added.
City officials planted a memorial tree in front of City Hall in his honor, she said.
Kawashima would have been surprised about all the fuss done for him since he died because he was humble, she said.
“He doesn’t think he’s very special, just an ordinary guy,” she said.
McClure said when he didn’t return home as expected, she looked online and saw there was a collision on his route home and was growing concerned enough to call Tustin police, she said. Shortly after that, officials knocked on her door to deliver the terrible news, she said.
“I wanted to believe it was an accident,” she said of the crash. But the evidence that came out in trial convinced her it was worse than that.
“I now realize it’s a miracle David was the only one who was killed,” she said.
McClure’s daughter, Irene Kotulak, said Kawashima “was a very important part of my life.”
She described him as “kind hearted’ with a “gentle soul.”
“He loved animals and they loved him,” she said.
“He took me to my first UCLA basketball game,” she said.
The two shared an interest in history, she said.
“I sent David a Father’s Day card every year … and he kept every single one,” she said.
Her stepfather also held on to a stuffed gorilla toy she gave him as a child after they visited the zoo together.
Pantoja has a prior felony conviction for leading police on a chase in 2017, and a prior DUI out of Riverside in 2013, Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue said previously
According to prosecutors, Tustin police were called about 8:45 a.m. April 18, 2021, to the District at Tustin Legacy shopping center because a driver appeared to be passed out at an In-N-Out drive-thru.
Prosecutors said Pantoja fled in a stolen car from Tustin police at a high rate of speed through a Costco gas station while other drivers were pumping gas. He also ran a red light before heading northbound in the southbound lanes of Jamboree Road.
Pantoja went about 300 yards before slamming head-on into a vehicle driven by Kawashima at Jamboree near Warner Avenue, Irvine police reported. Kawashima was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pantoja was hospitalized after the crash. The woman in Pantoja’s car was also hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.