On March 19, 2015, at approximately 4:47 pm, the Campbell Police Department responded to a report of a drunk driver who collided with a pedestrian on Lovell Avenue. Upon arrival, Officers found a 41 year old female underneath the front of a full size GMC truck that was in the driveway of the residence.
At that time, the victim was not breathing and had no pulse. Santa Clara County Fire Department personnel used airbags to raise the truck off of the victim to render aid. After life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, the victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the truck, identified as Filip Handl, 60 years of Campbell, was contacted and found to be under the influence of alcohol. Preliminary testing showed his blood alcohol content to be well over the legal limit. It was also determined that Mr. Handl and the victim both lived at the residence. Campbell Police Department Detectives along with members of the Major Accident Investigations Team (MAIT) and the Crime Scene Response Team (CSRT) took over the investigation.
Campbell Police Captain Gary Berg said, “While we don’t have any reason to believe that he intended to kill this specific person, it is clear that his impairment and decision to drive drunk, which he admitted to doing numerous times in the past, caused the death of the victim.”
Based on the statements of the witnesses at the residence, Mr. Handl’s own statements, and evidence at the scene, he was arrested for murder. Mr. Handl had one prior arrest for DUI in the 1970s.
This is the first murder in Campbell in 2015 (there was one in 2014). Detectives are continuing the investigation and working with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for the criminal prosecution.
