Family of West Sac man killed on Fairfield freeway seeks answers
FAIRFIELD » Cameron Rashay Simmons, 26, of West Sacramento, had just finished his first week of work at a Tesla branch in Fremont Aug. 14 and was headed home to his pregnant fiancee in West Sacramento when he was fatally shot around 11 p.m. while driving on eastbound Interstate 80 in Fairfield.
His white Plymouth Voyager reportedly drifted from the Air Base Parkway area to the North Texas Street exit, where family members say he got out of the moving vehicle and died in the arms of a witness.
Although he has since been laid to rest, his family continues to grieve. They want answers, and closure.
Investigators with the Golden Gate Division of the
California Highway Patrol have released no updates in the case.
His aunt, Loren NailsNewell, said the family is heartbroken.
“We're lost,” she said. As far as they can tell, he left his grandmother's house at 10:15 p.m. and passed the toll bridge at 10:46 p.m. The first 911 call was made at 11:13 p.m., they said, and he was pronounced dead at 11:46 p.m.
Simmons grew up in Oakland and Stockton. Following a troubled youth, he turned his life around and became a strong advocate with the Restorative Justice of Oakland Youth.
“He had just evolved into a young man,” said NailsNewell. “He was very inspirational. … He was always there to enlighten.”
He traveled the nation to speak about RJOY, counseled youth, even made a documentary.
In his spare time, he made music.
“He touched a lot of lives,” his aunt said.
His grandmother, Linda
Hawkins, remembered a “beautiful” boy.
“Cameron was absolutely wonderful,” she said, joking that “eating was his favorite pastime.”
He was about to be a firsttime dad to twins, a boy and a girl, due in November.
“And he was a bonus dad to his fiancee's 2-year-old,” Hawkins said.
“He was an adventurer. He liked to see new things, explore new things. He liked to try food wherever he went,” she continued.
Her grandson was a mentor to many youngsters, both in RJOY and to those he met along the way. At his service, a man who met Simmons at a homeless shelter program in San Francisco spoke about the other man's generosity.
“Cameron had actually gone out of his way multiple times for him and many people at the shelter,” his grandmother learned. “He wanted to open a nonprofit.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call the CHP Investigative Tipline at 707-917-4491.