Posted: 9/4/2010 12:39:33 PM EDT
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http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15988561?source=most_viewed&nclick_check=1
Caltrain to pay $1 million to family of boy killed by train
By Mike Rosenberg San Mateo County Times Posted: 09/03/2010 08:03:29 PM PDT Updated: 09/04/2010 08:33:52 AM PDT Caltrain will spend nearly $1 million as part of a settlement with the family of a 15-year-old South San Francisco boy hit and killed by a train while riding his skateboard in 2008, officials said. The settlement stems from a wrongful-death lawsuit the family of Anthony Rea filed in May 2009 in San Mateo County Superior Court, and later moved to federal court, against Caltrain and Amtrak, whose engineers operate the trains. Rea was struck and killed by a southbound Caltrain while crossing the tracks at the San Bruno station, where he had just exited a northbound train, in April 2008. The agency and witnesses said at the time the El Camino High School freshman rode his skateboard around a lowered crossing arm and was listening to headphones when he was hit. Although the exact settlement is still being worked out, federal court documents show the two sides reached an agreement during a mediation hearing Aug. 13 pending the Caltrain board of directors' approval. Caltrain's board, in a closed session hearing Thursday, authorized its attorneys to reach a settlement and add $990,000 to its budget "to cover a portion of the expenses related to the settlement," according to a statement released by the agency. It's also unclear how much of the amount would go to the family, attorneys fees or other court costs, as Caltrain declined further comment until the case is over. Nevertheless, it is another financial blow to an agency that is warning it could descend into commute-time only service by the end of 2011 to deal with its budget woes. Agency officials said the payment would come out of a reserve fund that has dwindled to about $5 million, which officials said was already a "ridiculously low" number for an agency with nearly a $100 million budget. The account is meant for emergencies such as last year's horn noise problems and the 2008 cracked bolster problem that required fixes to several train cars. Attorneys at a San Francisco-based law firm representing parents Cecilia and Dean Rea also said they could not comment until after the settlement was final. In the lawsuit, the attorneys said the agency "encouraged and allowed" pedestrians to enter the track in the area where Rea was hit. It also blamed the engineer for failing to "slow or stop the train and failing to control the train so as to avoid hitting" Rea. Caltrain on Friday did not make available the transit police report, citing the ongoing case. |
wrong, stupid is as stupid does.  The agency and witnesses said at the time the El Camino High School freshman rode his skateboard around a lowered crossing arm and was listening to headphones when he was hit. I commute CalTrain to the city and back all the time, so far I have avoided being on a train delayed for an accident/suicide. |
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Sorry, I'm far closer to sending the family a bill for cleaning up the train than I am to sending them a check for a million bucks. Truth is, though, I don't endorse either. The kid paid the ultimate price for being careless and stupid, and that should have been the end of the story. |
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Quoted: Quoted: If I had been on the jury, he wouldn't have got a cent. The problem is this case never went before a jury. It is a problem, many times a case would go to trial and a jury would give a verdict against the innocent "big company" because they feel sorry for the injured or deceased and because the big company has deep pockets. That is why insurance companies settle out of court. The uncertainty of possibly paying 10 times that much. Crap like this costs all of us. The insurance company does not print money, the premiums we pay are what funds these frivolous claims. |