On a warm March night in Azusa, California, Jadine Russell, a 55-year-old mother of five, had gone to the movies with her adult daughter, Jennifer. After the flick the pair headed home in separate cars along a dark, two-lane street. As Russell made her way home, a lost driver attempted a U-turn in front of her. Unable to brake in time, she broadsided the car. The Russell women stopped, as did the other driver. Within a few minutes California highway patrol officer Craig Stevens and Azusa police sergeant Raymond Zamora arrived on the scene, where they all stood by the cars and discussed the accident.