Five months after 3-month-old Ruby Rose Gould was fatally struck at a Huntington Beach crosswalk, her relatives have filed four claims totaling $40 million against the city and Orange County, California. The claimants are Ruby's parents and her two cousins who were with her at the time of the pedestrian accident.
The deadly Huntington Beach traffic crash happened on September 7, 2010 as Ruby, her mother Renee, and cousins Jacob Chuntz, 7, and Daisy Chuntz, 11, walked to the Westminster Mall. Halfway through the crosswalk on the busy intersection of Springdale Street and Croupier Drive, Renee, Daisy, and Ruby, who was in a stroller, were struck by Toyota Tundra that was rear-ended by a white Chevy Tahoe. The impact of the crash caused Ruby, who wasn't strapped to the stroller, to be thrown some 30 feet. She died later that afternoon from internal and head injuries. Meantime, Renee fractured her vertebrae and dislocated her shoulder, and Daisy broke her leg.
Distracted driving reportedly played a factor in the catastrophic Huntington Beach pedestrian accident. The driver of the Chevy Tahoe, 50-year-old Robert Anthony Casares, reportedly failed to notice that the traffic in front of him had stopped because he looked down for a moment to secure his laptop and prevent it from sliding out of its bag. Upon seeing the Toyota Tundra, he stepped on the brakes in an attempt to avoid hitting it but was unable to stop in time. Casares is charged with one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
The Huntington Beach wrongful death and personal injury claims contend that the crosswalk where the tragic incident happened was not properly marked, had overhead flashing lights that weren't always working, and did not have adequate pedestrian-activated warning signs. Even prior to the accident, residents complained that the crosswalk was not safe for kids, who would use it to get to school.
A wrongful death claim against a California city is usually a precursor to a lawsuit.
$40 million in claims filed in crosswalk crash that killed baby, The OC Register, February 11, 2011
Orange County, California Pedestrian Accidents in Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove Cause Injuries and One Death, California Injury Lawyers Blog, September 7, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Pedestrian Safety, SafeKids
More California Injury Lawyers Blog Posts:
13-Year-Old Pedestrian is Struck in Orange County, California Car Crash by Two Vehicles, California Injury Lawyers Blog, January 13, 2011
16-Year-Old Cypress Pedestrian Dies from La Palma, California Car Accident Injuries, California Injury Lawyers Blog, November 5, 2010
