PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT: $10M Claim Filed Against City for Defective Road Sign
August 19, 2010
San Diego – Relatives of a tourist who was struck and killed in an intersection has filed a $10 million claim against the city Thursday for failing to install an efficient road sign that should have prevented the fatal accident, reports said.
Carrie Ortega’s 29-year-old daughter, Virginia, was said to be on a vacation from Arizona when she was hit by a San Diego Seal Tours bus last March. Reports show that Virginia Ortega was illegally crossing the intersection of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway when the tour bus turned right and hit her.
The family claims that the “no-crossing” sign was small and was not in plain view so pedestrians could easily miss it. They also alleged that the design of the San Diego tour bus that hit Virginia Ortega prevented the driver from noticing crossing pedestrians as it was too high from the ground.
The owner of the tour bus, Old Town Trolley, claims that the driver is only around 10 feet from the ground and that there is a spotter in the passenger seat to see pedestrians.
Ortega’s family wants the city to evaluate the tour bus and to install a noticeable road sign at the intersection to keep the public safe.
OFFICE ADDRESS
