Los Angeles to pay $15M in suit over fatal crosswalk crash at intersection that lacked traffic light
Los Angeles has agreed to pay $15 million to settle litigation brought by the families of two girls who were struck by an inattentive driver in a crosswalk of a North Hollywood intersection that lacked a traffic light.
Emely Aleman, 12, was killed by the 2010 accident and Angela Killings-Rodriguez, then 10, was left a quadriplegic. Her family hopes the settlement will allow her to live at home instead of in an institution, the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) reports.
The families argued that the city knew the intersection was dangerous yet failed to install a traffic light in time to prevent the accident. The two girls were struck by a Jeep Wrangler on the evening of Nov. 2, 2010 at the intersection of at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street.
Attorney Gary Dordick represents the plaintiffs. He said a jury might have awarded $50 million in the case.
Following a vote by city council to OK the $15 million payment, “We hope that this settlement will bring some comfort and enable Angela to come home to live with her family,” a spokesman for city attorney Mike Feuer said in a written statement.
