On June 11th, 2020, my 21-year-old son Benjamin was struck while riding his bike with friends during the height of COVID, a young man working nights and doing his best to build a life. He died the next day, June 12th. Neomi Velado, the driver who hit him, was texting while high on drugs and drunk. Instead of stopping, she ran from the scene of the crime. 

Per the DMV’s own driver’s manual, driving is a privilege, not a fundamental right. Despite this, the California DMV has been exceedingly negligent in maintaining this principle.

In Neomi Velado’s trial, it was revealed that she had a long history of reckless driving with three prior hit-and-runs. Yet the DMV continued to grant her the privilege of driving due to its own negligence. 

My son’s death isn’t the only example of the DMV’s allowing clearly dangerous drivers to stay on the road:

18-year-old Joseph Ramirez was killed in the passenger seat of his friend Marvin Salazar’s car, who was driving under the influence. Instead of losing his driving privileges for three years as mandated by law, the DMV issued Salazar a new license two months later. 
Sylvester Conway, who has 15 DUI convictions and killed Khayriyyah Jones in one collision, is still allowed to drive on our roads today. 
Kostas Linardos, who drove a pick-up truck at high speed and killed a toddler in 2022, had 16 prior reckless driving, speeding, and street-racing violations; yet just a year after the fatal collision, the DMV renewed his license. The DMV held no hearings or investigations looking into Linardos’ record; they simply returned his driving privileges.

How do habitual offenders, with a record of hit-and-runs, DUIs, or reckless driving, continue to hold a driver's license and still roam our streets unchecked? The systemic failures of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), under the leadership of Director Steve Gordon, need to be addressed immediately. Currently, there are no stringent measures to adequately monitor or revoke licenses of repeat offenders like the driver who killed my son.

The DMV’s lax Policies are putting lives at risk by allowing dangerous drivers to remain on the road. These failures have led to preventable tragedies and highlight a lack of proper oversight. 

Director Steve Gordon must be held accountable for these shortcomings. In a Senate hearing held on 10 March 2026, Director Gordon stated that road safety was not a priority for the DMV: “It (driver safety) wasn’t the first team we attacked because we were worried about lines, REAL ID, and a bunch of other things that were occurring.” 

Remove Director Gordon and Reform DMV

Director Gordon MUST GO NOW! His removal is a step toward reforming a broken system that has failed countless victims and their families

I urge you to sign this petition to call for a change in leadership and reform of the DMV to ensure that no more families have to suffer the unbearable pain of losing a loved one to preventable traffic violence. Your support can help create a safer environment for everyone in our community. Let’s honor my son’s memory and the memory of so many others by signing and sharing this petition. 

Thank you! 

Kellie Montalvo

Mother of Benjamin Montalvo