Settlement reached in wrongful death lawsuit

A settlement was reached in the lawsuit against a trucker and his employer accused of negligence in the death of a pedestrian, according to Paul Kiesel, one of the attorneys representing the children of a Santa Maria woman who was struck and killed by a semi-truck while crossing the street in December 2015.

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed on Oct. 10 in the Cook Division of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Maria Cabrera and Elias Gonzales allege that Jimmie Estrada Jr.—a truck driver for Chino-based Gardner Trucking Inc.—was distracted when he struck their mother, 59-year-old Mary Cabrera, as she crossed the intersection of Blosser and Cook streets during the late morning of Dec. 15, 2015. 

Estrada was unfamiliar with the area and had gotten lost while making a delivery in Santa Maria that day, the lawsuit states. He was attempting to get back on his delivery route when he struck Cabrera. 

Cabrera was pushing a shopping cart across the intersection when she was hit by the big rig, according to the lawsuit. Cabrera was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gonzales and his sister also allege that Estrada was speeding and failed to yield. 

Kiesel wouldn’t disclose the amount of the settlement, although the siblings sought damages in excess of $25,000, according to the lawsuit. He added that a settlement was reached through mediation and that the lawsuit was filed as a formality.  

“The bottom line is that we’ve been able to reach a settlement in the case,” Kiesel told the Sun, “and we worked with them to reach a resolution.”

Calls placed by the Sun to Gardner Trucking weren’t returned before press time. 

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