Phoong Law Files Claim Against California State Parole on Behalf of Hanako Abe’s Family

By Phoong Law Corporation  |  March 4, 2026

Two Lives Lost in a Crosswalk on New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve 2020, 27-year-old Hanako Abe was walking near the intersection of Second and Mission Streets in San Francisco when a stolen vehicle struck and killed her. The driver, Troy McAlister, was high on methamphetamine, armed with a firearm, and fleeing the scene of a robbery. Sixty-year-old Elizabeth Platt was also killed in the crash. Two strangers in a crosswalk, now forever linked by a tragedy that never should have happened.

Phoong Law Corporation, led by founder and attorney Anh Phoong and attorney Diana Thomas, has now filed a government claim against the State of California on behalf of the Abe family. The claim is a required first step before suing a public entity, and it names the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) along with specific parole agents and supervisors who the family's attorneys say had every opportunity to prevent this from happening.

A Young Woman With a Promising Future

Hanako Abe was a beloved daughter, sister, and friend. She was 27 years old with her whole life ahead of her. Her family has spent more than five years searching for answers about why the man who killed her was free to walk the streets despite an extensive criminal record and repeated arrests while on parole. This claim represents their pursuit of justice, accountability, and meaningful change so that no other family has to endure what they have been through.

How the System Failed to Protect the Public

The facts laid out in the claim paint a disturbing picture of systemic failure. Troy McAlister was on his third parole term at the time of the crash. He had accumulated at least 91 prior felonies and was well known to CDCR as a parole program failure who was actively committing serious and escalating crimes in violation of his parole conditions.

In the six months leading up to the deadly crash, McAlister was arrested five separate times for offenses including residential burglary, giving a false name to police, and other parole violations. According to the claim, police notified his parole agent after four of those five arrests. Each time, the agent declined to initiate proceedings to hold McAlister in jail or send him back to prison.

Just two days before the crash, Daly City Police contacted McAlister's parole agent seeking help in locating him for felony carjacking and brandishing a firearm with a high-capacity magazine. The agent had access to McAlister's GPS ankle-monitor data, known addresses, and the authority to seek a warrant. None of that happened. Without assistance from parole, Daly City Police could not locate McAlister in time.

A Directive That Put the Public at Risk

At the center of the case is an internal email sent by a parole supervisor in San Francisco's Parole Unit 1. Sent during the early months of the pandemic, the directive reportedly instructed agents not to search for violations and not to assist outside law enforcement agencies, duties that are specifically outlined in parole officer job descriptions. McAlister's parole agent was among those who received this email.

While pandemic-era guidance from the state did call for limiting certain parole activities, it included clear exceptions for parolees who posed a serious threat to public safety and for mandatory violations involving serious felonies like carjacking and firearm offenses. The Abe family's legal team argues that McAlister's escalating criminal behavior clearly met those thresholds and that agents had both the tools and the obligation to act.

Why Phoong Law Took This Case

Attorney Anh Phoong has spoken publicly about why her firm stepped forward for the Abe family, particularly after other firms declined to join the lawsuit. As reported by journalist Dion Lim, Phoong emphasized that now is the time for the Asian American community to speak up and fight for each other when accountability is in question.

"This tragedy was not random. State Parole received repeated warnings that McAlister was committing violent crimes while out on parole. Parole agents had every tool to protect the public but chose not to act. Hanako was a beloved daughter, sister and friend with a promising future. Her family deserves justice and will fight for accountability and change so that no one else has to endure this pain." Anh Phoong, Founder and Attorney, Phoong Law Corporation

Seeking Accountability and Lasting Change

The Abe family is not only seeking justice for Hanako. They want to make sure the failures that led to her death are addressed so that other families are protected. When parole agents have the tools, the information, and the legal authority to keep dangerous individuals off the streets and choose not to act, the consequences can be devastating and irreversible.

Phoong Law Corporation is committed to standing with the Abe family through every stage of this case. We believe that government agencies and the individuals who serve within them must be held accountable when their failures put innocent lives at risk.