It was on June 17, 1992, that the phrase swoop & squat became a household name. This form of staged accidents was commonplace on the highways and byways of Los Angeles where I was a claims investigator. But this was the day the phrase went viral.
The catalyst was an accident that occurred on the 5 freeway in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles. A black Firebird had been rear-ended by a semi that subsequently jack-knifed and dumped its load of cars across the freeway.
In the Firebird, passenger Rubidia Lopez had been partially ejected and was seriously hurt, requiring the Jaws of Life to save her. One of the other passengers, Jose Perez, was not quite so lucky, losing his life in this vain attempt to cash in on the truck's lucrative insurance policy. It was this accident that brought nationwide attention to organized crime rings that stage swoop and squats from coast to coast.
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