Family of cyclist files wrongful death suit against demolition company
The family of a 47-year-old Los Altos Hills woman killed when her bicycle collided with a big rig last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the truck’s driver and his employer. The driver has reportedly been involved in fatal collisions previously.
The latest complaint was filed Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court on Monday, the same day the California Highway Patrol released a report that concludes trucker Gabriel Manzur Vera was not at fault in the crash that killed Lauren Perdriau Ward.
The suit names Vera and the Castroville-based demolition company he works for, Randazzo Enterprises, as defendants. It alleges that the fatal Nov. 4 crash on Alpine Road near Portola Valley was a result of Vera’s negligence in driving directly into the path of Ward’s bike.
Earlier this year, Vera and Randazzo Enterprises paid $1.5 million to settle a separate wrongful death suit stemming from a 2007 collision that involved the trucker and a bicyclist in Santa Cruz.
Vera has been involved in three fatal collisions while on the job, according to CHP records, but investigators have never found him to be at fault.
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