$950,000 SETTLEMENT FOR DEATH OF 61-YEAR-OLD UNMARRIED WOMAN WHEN RUN OVER BY A BIG RIG TRUCK IN A PARKING LOT IN SALINAS, CALIFORNIA

$950,000 settlement for wrongful death of a 61-year-old woman who has not married and had no children. On August 29, 2020, the decedent was standing in a parking lot with her back to the lot as she watched her boyfriend retrieve his face mask from his car. The couple were attending a birthday celebration of the driver of the big rig who was moving his truck before the event when he ran over the woman. The truck driver did not look before slowly backing up his tractor and trailer. There was not a back up alarm on the rig and there was no backing camera on the trailer or tractor.

The attorney for the driver contended that the driver was slowly reversing the tractor in idle and there was a long enough time for the woman to hear the big rig moving and to see it before she was hit. The defense argued she was partially responsible for the accident and could have avoided the collision.

The decedent was not married and she had no children. The plaintiffs were her 53-year-old sister and her 57-year-old brother. The case settled at mediation for $950,000.