Judge orders Karim Reyad’s mother to appear for questioning

Karim Reyad (left) sits next to attorney Forrest Miller during a court hearing on Dec. 14, 2023.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Superior Court judge ordered the mother of a single-handed driver charged with murder in a fatal crash to ignore repeated attempts to interview her and appear for trial.

Judge Gregory Pulskamp issued the order Friday after lawyers for Chain Cohn Clark said Erina Daoud Boshra Hanna – Karim Reyad’s mother – repeatedly refused to resign.

Pulskamp also sanctioned Hanna for $1,660, to be paid to the law firm, said managing partner Matthew C. Clark. The law firm represents the family of a woman who died in an accident in April 2023.

Clark said Hanna was not charged with a crime, but her actions played a role in what happened.

“We call these cases ‘cool parents,’” Clark said, referring to incidents that occur when a parent turns a blind eye to their children’s reckless or illegal behavior.

In Reyad’s case, Hanna paid to have his Dodge Challenger released from a Bakersfield Police Department of Motor Vehicles parking lot, where the car was towed after Reyad was found asleep at the wheel and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Clark said she gave the car to her son even though he had been arrested and had his license suspended.

The next day, Reyad, then 18, was allegedly speeding under the influence of marijuana and collided head-on with a Honda Civic on the southwest side of Bakersfield. The Honda’s driver, Gayla Sue Price, died at the scene.

Reyad’s trial is scheduled for November.

Hanna is being sued for negligently entrusting the vehicle to her son, Clark said. She gave him the car despite a DUI arrest and a separate incident in which police stopped him for illegal speeding, he said.

Clark said there were at least three attempts to take her down. He hopes that, in accordance with the judge’s order, they will be able to proceed with the proceedings within the next 30 days.

He noted that one of the reasons for her refusal to appear was fear.

“I wish she was afraid for the safety of everyone on the road when she went and took out her child’s car and then gave it back to him after an illegal speeding display and a DUI arrest,” Clark said. “Why weren’t you afraid then?”