According to the PR Web, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Caltrans, Holly Ann Lee, Gaylene Lee, Victoriana Vazquez and Miguel Alvarez for the death of Kimberly Ann Downes. California personal injury lawyers of BISNAR|CHASE filed suit against Caltrans, Holly Ann Lee, Gaylene Lee, Victoriana Vazquez and Miguel Alvarez. The action was brought against the defendants by James R. Downes and Myung Sun Kim, Kimberly’s parents who are seeking economic and non-economic damages for the wrongful death.
The suit alleges that on February 13, 2009 at approximately 3:30 a.m. Kimberly Ann Downes, age 22, was driving to work in her 2002 Hyundai Sante Fe within the speed limit on SR-60 in the city of Diamond Bar. For unknown reasons, she swerved to the left, struck the center concrete median wall and overturned into the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. Thereafter, Holly Ann Lee, driving a 2007 Toyota Yaris, struck Downes’ Hyundai. At that time, Downes was standing outside of her Hyundai. Following this collision, Victoriana Vazquez, driving a 2003 Jeep Liberty struck Downes, who may have been thrown into the eastbound lanes of SR-60. Downes was fatally injured. The plaintiffs contend that the dangerously dark conditions and poor line-of-sight visibility prevented defendants Lee and Vazquez from seeing Downes and her vehicle so as try and avoid with her.
The plaintiffs also contend that Holly Ann Lee was negligent since she was driving at an excessive and unsafe speed and allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. The plaintiffs further allege that Vazquez was driving at an excessive and unsafe speed when she struck Downes. Gaylene Lee and Miguel Alvarez are named as owners of the vehicles involved in the collisions.
The suit alleges that Caltrans was responsible because of the lack of lighting on the HOV lane; that they were negligent in their duty to provide a safe public roadway; and that they failed to ensure that the double armed center median lights east of the Grand Avenue overpass near SR-60 were turned on at the time of the accident. Further, it is alleged that the dangerous conditions precipitated the several collisions that resulted in Downes death.
