Wrong-way driver victim's family awarded $7,000,000
The Santa Barbara Independent reports that the family of Jose Vega, who was killed on the morning of September 23, 2009 when a Verizon employee driving the wrong way on Highway 101 slammed head-on into his minivan, was awarded $7,000,000 today after filing a wrongful death claim against the company.
The employee, Mark Selander, was reportedly suffering from a diabetic reaction when he got on the highway in a company truck and drove southbound on northbound lanes for eight miles before causing the six car accident. It took rescue crews more than an hour to extricate the 49 year old Vega from his mangled car, but he died at the scene. Selander suffered only minor injuries.
While the attorneys representing Verizon declined to comment, the family’s lawyer, Brian Panish, said he was pleased with the settlement. Panish said in previous statements that the successful claim represents one of the largest wrongful death settlements on record in Santa Barbara Superior Court. Panish said that Verizon was aware of Selander’s “condition,” but failed to do anything about it, and the employee had had prior diabetic reaction incidents that were not properly addressed.
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