‘Top Gun’ stuntman sued after fatal ATV crash at ‘Burning Man-style party’ in SLO County
The family of the woman who drowned in an ATV crash at a so-called Burning Man-style party in San Luis Obispo County sued the Hollywood stuntman who allegedly hosted the event — whose counsel characterized it instead as a small camping trip with friends — but a settlement agreement brought closure before the case went to trial.
Jonathan Spano, a stunt pilot who worked on the 2022 movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” hosted a party in 2020 near Harmony at which guests were allowed to operate a Can Am ATV under the influence of drugs and alcohol provided at the party “in an effort to put on a version of the Burning Man Festival during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the lawsuit alleged.
Late into the night, party-goer Maria Arayza-Alvarez was driving the ATV while intoxicated when the vehicle plummeted off an ocean cliff and into the water, killing its passenger, 34-year-old Paso Robles resident Tanya Hendry, court records allege.
Trapped inside the ATV, Hendry died “a horrific and excruciating death by drowning in the ensuing minutes,” the lawsuit said.
Her parents, Anita and Michael Hendry, filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Spano and Harmony Bluffs LLC — the property owner of the location where the party was held — on March 8, 2022. Spano is listed as the manager of Harmony Bluffs LLC, according to two online business profiles, Bizapedia and Bizprofile.
They accused Spano and the property owner of having “negligently and recklessly leased, controlled and operated a recreational vehicle under circumstances so dangerous that they ultimately killed a member of their party.”
But Spano, who sat in the passenger seat of the ATV when it crashed, experienced and now sees what happened in a different light.
“This tragic accident took the life of one of my best friends,” he said in a statement to The Tribune. “What was meant to be a simple camping trip with my four close friends and my father before Christmas became the worst night of my life.”
“That night, when our mutual friend accidentally drove the vehicle off the bluff, everything happened in an instant,” Spano said. “It was the most traumatic experience of my life. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and after I was able to pull myself out of the submerged vehicle, I immediately tried to locate and save my friends in the darkness.”
“I fought through the high surf, diving into the water desperately trying to find Tanya,” he said. “I did everything I could and losing her has been an incredibly painful tragedy.”
Spano’s legal counsel said it was another attendee — Khaled Azar, also a named defendent — who rented the ATV for the weekend, not Spano.
After years of litigation, a jury was selected and the parties were set to head to trial on Feb. 17.
Instead, that day the court announced a settlement agreement was reached between the families, amounting to the total available insurance limit plus a personal contribution on behalf of Harmony Bluffs LLC to the Hendrys.
Court records from November state Spano’s insurer as Scottsdale Insurance with a $5 million policy limit.
Arayza-Alvarez — also a named defendant in the lawsuit — previously settled with the family.
In 2020, The Tribune reported she was charged with driving under the influence, causing injury or death to another and gross vehicular manslaughter. Court records show she was involved in criminal proceedings and served four months in jail for her sentence. Nicholas Rowley, the Hendrys’ lawyer, said that Arayza-Alvarez pled guilty to manslaughter and served five months.
The morning of the settlement announcement, Anita and Michael Hendry emerged from a closed-door chambers conference with Spano and their lawyers overcome with emotion at the conclusion of the case, which took over years of their life.
The courtroom fell quiet as Michael broke down in sobs in the arms of his wife, his son Conar and his legal team.
“This is a good thing,” Anita could be heard saying.
The exact amount of the settlement agreement was kept confidential, but the personal contribution was “something that the family appreciates,” Rowley told The Tribune.
“In life, we all make mistakes,” he said. “What defines us is what we do with our mistakes and whether or not we accept responsibility and how and when we accept responsibility.”
“I see this as the defense accepting responsibility, and that’s all the family wanted,” He said. “This case was never about money for them — it was about getting answers.”
Spano called Tanya a “beautiful soul” and a “truly cherished friend.”
“My heart is with the Hendry family,” he said. “Today and always.”
Anita later told The Tribune that after years of fighting for justice for her daughter, she was “just pleased … that we’re done.”
Hendry was an artist and bartender at The Hatch Rotisserie and Bar in Paso Robles, according to her Instagram.
Michael said he misses his little girl “every day.” The bike her parents bought her as a high school graduation gift, nicknamed “Dirty Shirley,” is on display at The Rodeo Bar in Paso Robles, keeping her memory alive, he said.
Though closure can never be final for the Hendrys, the amicable settlement has helped close this chapter of their lives and honor Tanya’s memory, they said.
“There’s been a knot in me I’ve never been able to let go,” Michael said.
ATV driver allegedly took drugs before fatal crash
Planned for the course of three days including the night of Dec. 20, 2020, the party was hosted by Spano at 4010 Alapay Way, right next to Harmony Headlands State Park, according to court records.
The event was held in the style of the annual Burning Man Project, an arts and culture festival held in the Nevada desert, the lawsuit alleged. The infamous festival had been canceled that year due to the pandemic, court records show.
Spano’s event allegedly acted as a substitute for festival-goers that year, attracting the same “plethora of drug use” the Nevada event typically does and complete with a wooden-built man that was lit on fire, according to court records.
Spano’s counsel said the event was a camping trip with six adults, including Mr. Spano’s elderly father — not a party — and that Spano did not provide drugs or alcohol to his guests.
“Everyone brought their own drinks,” Spano’s counsel said. “No one at the camping trip stated that Mr. Spano provided drugs or alcohol.”
It was during the early morning hours of Dec. 21 that Arayza-Alvarez got behind the wheel of the ATV — allegedly after consuming both drugs and alcohol. Spano’s counsel said her intoxication was not apparent to the other people present, including Spano.
Spano and Harmony Bluffs LLC “not only sanctioned and ratified this activity, but actively encouraged, aided and abetted it,” the lawsuit alleged.
Spano’s legal counsel denied the allegation.
A collection of drugs were allegedly taken by guests that night, including cocaine, ketamine, LSD, marijuana and Adderall, according to a news release from Rowley’s law firm Trial Lawyers for Justice.
According to Rowley, Spano “had a history of hosting drug parties” and a “prior relationship with cocaine.”
Conar Hendry testified that Spano “customarily provided his high-grade cocaine to his guests,” and that he had seen him do so on four separate occasions, according to court records.
Spano strongly denied these allegations, and the judge later ruled that this testimony was not admissible as evidence at trial, Spano’s legal counsel told The Tribune.
According to the lawsuit, Arayza-Alvarez was encouraged to drive the ATV despite being under the influence, having no experience driving high-performance recreational vehicles and the fact that it was dark out and the party was located near “a sheer cliff.”
The lawsuit further argues that Spano and Harmony Bluffs LLC “provided no warnings, no signage, no reflective tape, and no barriers to prevent people from falling off or driving off the ocean cliff.”
The ATV was leased by Azar, who, by doing so, also “encouraged, aided and abetted the dangerous activity,” the lawsuit argued. He, too, settled with the Hendry family.
Arayza-Alvarez’s lawyers did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment. Azar’s lawyer, Chad Slack, declined to comment.
Rowley called the whole event a “recipe for disaster” and the “perfect storm.”
“I think that this was a really tragic but absolutely preventable event,” he told The Tribune. “When we’re having parties with illegal drugs on the edge of ocean cliffs, a landowner and host of the party and ring leader should not allow people to drive ATVs they’ve never driven before at 2 to 3 a.m.”
“Mr. Spano is in the safety industry,” he said. “… We need to make sure we remember those things when we’re off duty.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 10:16 AM with the headline "‘Top Gun’ stuntman sued after fatal ATV crash at ‘Burning Man-style party’ in SLO County."
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to include a statement from Jonathan Spano and responses from his legal counsel to the allegations made in the lawsuit. This story has also been updated to reflect that Khaled Azar rented the Can Am ATV.
