A couple who lost their 23-year-old son as he was riding his motorcycle onto the Santa Monica highway has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver they allege caused his death. California Highway Patrol alleged the decedent swerved his bike and hit the curb prior to the crash. An independent investigation into the fatal motorcycle accident proved otherwise, prompting the filing.
On the night of Sept. 3, 2013, several 911 calls came in with witness reports of the crash. One caller referenced seeing a white sedan make contact with the motorcyclist as he got on the freeway. Another came from a Korean immigrant who is alleged to have called in retrospect after realizing that his sideswiping of the motorcyclist had caused him serious injuries or worse.
During that call, the man references having seen the deceased driving erratically, hitting a curb and swerving immediately prior to crashing to the ground. The attorney for the victim’s family contest that witness statements paint quite a different picture and place the gentleman at the center of the story as the instigator of the crash, leading the family to file a wrongful death against him.
In being deposed, the man denied having driven a white car at the time of the accident and reasserted that he believed that the decedent appeared drunk at the time of the accident, an allegation that toxicology resulted proved unfounded. The deposition also disproved that he had run to the aid decedent until help arrived.
Prior to filing their wrongful death lawsuit, the decedent’s family hired a retired state police expert to reconstruct the events of the accident. He concluded that their son’s motorcycle was struck by another vehicle, which resulted in the crash. The expert also concluded that there was no evidence that the motorcycle ever made contact with the curb.
In the three years since their son’s death, the family is still attempting to find out all the events of that fateful day. If you or someone you know has been injured or killed as a result of one of many motorcycle accidents that happen across California every day; a personal injury attorney help you better understand your legal rights as it relates to filing a claim.
Source: KOIN.com, “Son’s 2013 fatal motorcycle crash no simple accident parents say,” Dan Tilkin, Jan. 05, 2017