A fourteen year old suffered severe head injuries after being struck by a drunken driver as he was skateboarding with friends on Los Alisos Boulevard. Nathan Gonzalez Nathan was taken to CHOC at Mission with severe head trauma, and placed on life support. Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Bernardi, the city’s chief of police services, called this the worst accident he’s seen involving a skateboarder and a vehicle. Nathan was not wearing a helmet. He was from Mission Viejo where neighbors and residents of Aliso Villas have gathered to protest the dangerous road conditions which contributed to the death. The poor visibility on the street is due to many cars parked by Madero Street auto mechanic businesses.
Kathy Miramontes, a neighbor, has petitioned the city for speed bumps and even urged the city to paint curbs red and monitor the speed of vehicles traveling through the busy neighborhood. Johnny David Perez was the driver suspected of driving under the influence and striking the teenager.
The offender, Perez, will be held civilly and criminally responsible for Nathan’s fatal auto accident injuries. But neighbors such as Miramontes raise important issues. For years, they have approached the city of Mission Viejo to alert city officials about several dangerous conditions that exist on that roadway. The city apparently did take a few steps to monitor speeding motorists.
Under the provisions of California’s Government Code section 835, a public entity is liable for the damages of person injured because of a condition of public property when the injured person proves that: a. There was a dangerous condition on the property at the time of the accident; b. The injury was caused by that dangerous condition and c. The dangerous condition created a reasonable foreseeable risk of injury of the kind that occurred.
The exclusive purpose of this article is educational and it is not intended as either legal advice or a general solution to any specific legal problem. Corporate offices for Nave DWI Defense Attorneys are located at 432 N. Franklin Street, Suite 80, Syracuse, NY 13204; Telephone No.: 1-866-792-7800. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising.
