Diego Gonzalez v. CA Dept of Transport
- Resolution Date:
- May 2000
- Practice Areas:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents, Wrongful Death
- Synopsis:
- At 3:00 am on October 3, 1997, 28-year-old Diego Gonzalez was working for Environmental Equipment Rental on the Gilman Street over-crossing in Berkeley, California. Workers posted signs, message boards, and flashing lights to indicate closure of three of the four freeway lanes a few miles ahead. Workers also placed cones, in a long diagonal, to taper the road from four lanes to one lane over a half-mile stretch. Finally, there was an empty lane, or "buffer lane," between the lane of traffic and the workers. At the same time, Laurie Bolen was driving her 1993 Jeep Cherokee on I-80 toward the work site. Laurie Bolen had been drinking earlier that night. She had successfully passed through the narrowing lanes, but collided with the rubber cones. The plaintiffs alleged that within two seconds of hitting the cones, Bolen applied her brakes, but before she could stop the Jeep, she had entered the work site. Laurie Bolen's Jeep struck and killed Diego Gonzales. California Highway Patrol sobriety tests revealed that she had a .22 blood-alcohol level. Bolen pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter. The firm contended that Caltrans's inadequate safety precautions contributed to Diego Gonzalez's death. The firm uncovered facts showing that the event that caused Diego Gonzalez's death was a safety hazard that Caltrans anticipated in developing its safety protocol and another defendant, Romero, failed to take reasonable steps to address the hazard. The firm contended that the Caltrans manual proscribed two important safety precautions that Romero failed to implement: the posting of a lookout and the parking of "shadow vehicles"in the empty lane between the work site and traffic. The matter settled before trial.
- Attorneys:
- Kevin Lancaster
- Resolution:
- $1.2 Million