Family members of a grandmother who was killed in 2014 in a hit-run collision in Highland Park not long after passing her citizenship exam have reached a settlement of the lawsuit they brought against the city of Los Angeles.
Lawyers for the city filed court papers Oct. 25 in Los Angeles Superior Court stating that the case was resolved. No terms were divulged and it was not immediately clear if the settlement is subject to approval by the City Council.
The lawsuit was filed in November 2015. It stemmed from the Sept. 14, 2014, death of 57-year-old Gloria Esperanza Ortiz, who was struck by a car while crossing North Avenue 50 at San Marco Place.
The plaintiffs are Genesis Jazlene Rodriguez Cortez, who witnessed her grandmother’s death, and three of the decedent’s daughters, Yesenia Ortiz, Lissette Arreola and Karini Stephani Valenzuela.
The allegations included wrongful death, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and that a dangerous condition of public property occurred.
Ortiz, who had been recently sworn in as a U.S. citizen, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision. The lawsuit stated that the crossing was a “trap for pedestrians” because those traversing the intersection were lulled “into a false sense of security because of the existence of a vaguely visible crosswalk.”
The city was obligated to reduce the danger by putting in a stop sign or repainting the crosswalk, according to the complaint.
The location is in a highly populated area close to an elementary school, but the city “failed to make the public roadway safe for pedestrians and residents alike,” the lawsuit alleged.
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