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For Immediate Release
March 6, 2007
March 6, 2007
Contact O'Reilly & Danko
(650) 358-5901
(650) 358-5901
Wrongful-Death Case Charges CHP With
Negligence in Death of Road Worker
Oakland, CA—The
family of John Rack, 31, a
highway worker who was killed while working on Interstate Highway 680 early
in the morning of May 3, 2002, is suing the CHP in Alameda County Superior
Court for failure to provide required traffic controls. The trial is being
heard in Dept. 319 before Judge Steven Brick.
The CHP was required to provide traffic breaks for a CalTrans project so that workers, including Rack, could pick up cones. Although two officers were assigned, they failed to show up and Rack was forced to work in the early morning hours without any protection.
He was performing his assigned job in the darkness when he was struck and killed by at least two motor vehicles traveling at freeway speeds.
According to Terry O'Reilly, attorney for the Rack family, this tragic accident could easily have been avoided if safety rules had been followed.
O'Reilly said, "The required way to alert motorists to Rack and the other workers was to provide lighted warnings and traffic breaks. By contract, a California Highway Patrol car with its roof lights flashing was supposed to stop traffic. However, due to a series of bungles and buck-passing, the CHP never showed up. Motorists reaching the site of the accident had virtually no warning and no time to react to avoid striking Rack."
Rack's widow, Erin and his two minor children, Sierra, age 12, and Ceasar, age 11, are seeking an unspecified amount for wrongful death damages. O'Reilly & Danko specializes in representing plaintiffs in personal injury actions. The firm, headquartered in San Mateo, has won many multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of its clients.
The CHP was required to provide traffic breaks for a CalTrans project so that workers, including Rack, could pick up cones. Although two officers were assigned, they failed to show up and Rack was forced to work in the early morning hours without any protection.
He was performing his assigned job in the darkness when he was struck and killed by at least two motor vehicles traveling at freeway speeds.
According to Terry O'Reilly, attorney for the Rack family, this tragic accident could easily have been avoided if safety rules had been followed.
O'Reilly said, "The required way to alert motorists to Rack and the other workers was to provide lighted warnings and traffic breaks. By contract, a California Highway Patrol car with its roof lights flashing was supposed to stop traffic. However, due to a series of bungles and buck-passing, the CHP never showed up. Motorists reaching the site of the accident had virtually no warning and no time to react to avoid striking Rack."
Rack's widow, Erin and his two minor children, Sierra, age 12, and Ceasar, age 11, are seeking an unspecified amount for wrongful death damages. O'Reilly & Danko specializes in representing plaintiffs in personal injury actions. The firm, headquartered in San Mateo, has won many multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of its clients.