Home › News › County News
Simi sued over teen's death in car crash
Family: Concrete blocks contributed to fatality
Download this story as a podcast!
Scott
Video: Roadside hazard?
Judge for yourself whether or not the blocks pose a roadside hazard. Watch now >>
STORY TOOLS
More from County News
Large concrete blocks placed alongside West Los Angeles Avenue are the subject of a dispute between a Simi Valley family and the city of Simi Valley.
The family of Cynthia Scott, 18, who was killed in a car accident in 2005, say the blocks contributed to her death after the car she was a passenger in struck one of them.
There's no reason for them to be there, said the family's Beverly Hills lawyer, R. Joseph Trojan, who has filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of the family.
"Even if they're there to prevent people from going into the gully, they shouldn't kill people to keep them from it," Trojan said. "If they wanted to put up a railing to prevent off-roading in that area they'd put up a chain link fence, sand barriers or something where there's some give there. But certainly, by going and putting in 3,500-pound concrete blocks, 6 feet from the road, anyone going off the road is at risk of death."
Simi Valley officials would not discuss why the square, concrete blocks are there. They appear to be there to keep traffic from veering off the side of the avenue, between Quimisa Drive and the Moorpark city line.
"As to why they're there," said Tim Nanson, Simi's director of public works, "I don't know how I can speculate on that since it's a matter of a lawsuit."
City Attorney David Hirsch also declined to comment.
Scott was killed in the accident on Oct. 16, 2005, when the car she was riding in rounded a curve at a high speed, hit a telephone pole and then struck one of the concrete blocks, crushing the car and trapping her.
West Los Angeles Avenue is a city street, governed by city rules. If it were a state road, the placement of the blocks would violate the California Department of Transportation's traffic safety standards, which require about 30 feet of clear space adjacent to roadways "to provide a recovery zone for vehicles that have left the traveled way."
About one accident occurs annually on West Los Angeles Avenue, between Quimisa Drive and the Moorpark line, according to Simi Valley Police Department records.
Scott was riding with her boyfriend, Walter Cervantes, now 19, when the accident happened. They were heading west on West Los Angeles Avenue when Cervantes rounded a curve at about 83 mph, court records state. The posted speed limit is 45 mph.
According to the claims of Scott's estate, the car skidded into the oncoming traffic lane and its right side struck a telephone pole that broke in half, forcing Scott's seat to rotate counter clockwise until she was facing Cervantes. Then the car propelled backward and struck one of the concrete blocks, crushing the rear of the car and trapping Scott. Cervantes walked away with minor injuries; Scott died 90 minutes later at Simi Valley Hospital.
Cervantes pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter last week and was sentenced to 270 days in jail.
After the accident, a memorial was erected beside a concrete block that was pulled from the ground when the car hit it. Someone wrote "RIP CS" on it.
In addition to suing Simi, the Scott estate is suing Cervantes and his parents for negligence.
Filed in April, the suit seeks at least $5 million for Scott's death, which the plaintiffs claim was caused, in part, by the concrete blocks.
Posted by desdave on July 1, 2007 at 7:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Obviously if the guy driving had not been speeding and lost control the accident wouldn't have happened. He is totally at fault. However, after seeing the video it amazes me that the city didn't move them long ago. Seems like it would be obviously a danger.
Posted by potatoebay on July 1, 2007 at 7:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
First and foremost, the guy was doing 85. At that speed a tree, natural rock, berm, deer, gulley, anything could kill you. The blocks came into play because the idiot was driving too fast. I think the blocks are a seperate issue and probably shouldn't be there. I find it hard to believe that the Star would post a video with this beautiful young girls picture in it, which has a strong influence, with a lawsuit pending. My heart goes out to her family. She is in a better place, the family has to live on without her. So sad.
Posted by ThinkingForMySelf on July 1, 2007 at 7:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What struck me about the blocks were their positioning. They were not side by side providing a single wall affect. If it were positioned as such, a car careening out of control might bounce off, rather than hit flat against it.
How long were the blocks there. Has anyone else crashed into these blocks?
It seems clear to me that putting those blocks there, not in an orderly, seamless wall affect was negligent. There are many roads in California where the road narrows and you have a wall, maybe a huge retaining wall you must pass by. In this situation, you are not just simply going to bounce off, you are coming to a dead stop.
Posted by Cat on July 1, 2007 at 7:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Blame the dumb boyfriend and leave the city out of it. Nothing will bring her back now...no amount of money or even moving those blocks. 80 mph in a 45 mph zone...hello???? Says it all.
Posted by rebel123 on July 1, 2007 at 9:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Interesting that this kid got jail time, yet the young woman that killed seven and crippled another got off with probation and no time served. This is obviously a very dangerous road situation......but come on.....twice the speed limit?
Posted by theonlycapsfan on July 1, 2007 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
SUE THE BOYFRIEND AND HIS FAMILY!! Maybe it was the telephone pole that killed her... Sue the phone co. Might as well sue the car co too for not providing a safe car.
Posted by mhbrandt on July 1, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I fail to see how they have a lawsuit against the city. Now perhaps the family would have been more irate when after her and her boyfriends negligent behavior crashed them off the road in the brush starting another large wildfire then costing the city millions to fight and God only knows what else.
Yes, it is a tragic event a horrible accident that could have been prevented if her boyfriend was going the speed he should have, not such an excessive one. The force of the impact is directly related to his speed (ie an object in motion will stay in motion....).
I am saddened for the families, even the boyfriend, but it was his lack of control and excessive speed that caused this. He will have to live with that, but trying to shift the blame to the city is only going to piss them off even more when it comes time for boyfriends trial on whatever charges....
Posted by ThinkingForMySelf on July 1, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Clarification. In my post above, I was not endorsing the lawsuit. But merely pointing out the manner in which the blocks were positioned was/is not safe. I see it as neglectful minding of a roadway. You could easily get killed going the speed limit of 45 mph if you hit one of those blocks head on. That doesn't excuse what the driver did. But again, going the legal speed limit could cost you your life if you swerved for what ever reason along those blocks. They need to be repositioned of removed and replaced.
Posted by ebrockway on July 1, 2007 at 11:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Deep pockets strike again. Sorry for their daughter's death, but don't people realise when they sue local government they sue their own friends and neighbors? And what of the potiential for others losing their lives because money was taken from public safety or a needed road project wasn't completed because the money went to a grieving family who angrily lashed out? Even millions of dollars won't bring a family member back. Enough has been said for the driver going 83mph, but his pockets aren't deep enough apparently. Ambluance chasers, anger, and maybe even greed win another victory against the neighborhood.
Posted by bogeybob on July 1, 2007 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Our prayers go out to the family and friends of Cynthia. This is very tragic. But the one accountable here is the young boy speeding at 83 mph. If he was going the speed limit, she would still be here with her family. Its also the attorneys who look for the loopholes and there cut of the money. Money does not bring Cynthia back, its only a reminder every time a dollar is spent.
Posted by cherinchris on July 1, 2007 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is a tragedy, surely. Accidents from speeding happen daily, thousands of times daily. Speeding at twice the speed limit is nuts, but if he were going the speed limit, I bet this family would still have sued. And those concrete blocks could have been trees or other parked cars...it just so happens they were concrete blocks. I really don't see a necessity for the concrete blocks, but to sue the city is nuts. I'm sorry for the family's loss and I'm sorry for this young man losing his girlfriend and forever living with the guilt of what happened. To demand millions of dollars from the city and this young man, however, is just greed, plain and simple.
Posted by RavenSoft on July 1, 2007 at 5:41 p.m.
(This thread was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by rg on July 2, 2007 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't blame the family. Blame the lawyers. They know they can't get any money from the driver beyond what his car insurance will pay and they are most likely the ones seeking the extra cash. In the end they will end up seeing more of the money than the victims family.
I feel very sorry for the victim's family but if I was on the jury I would side with the city in this, primarily because the blocks are on the opposite side of the road. Since the driver had to have crossed into the oncoming lane, if a car had been coming in the opposite direction the blocks would not have been a factor. Instead the occupants of both car's would probably have been killed. And as others have stated, at that speed almost anything could have killed her.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on July 2, 2007 at 6:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW, Isn't ironic that when someone dies everyone on here mourns. Then when action is taken to have the road made safer, per say a lawsuit ,everyone lashes out !!!!!! These large rocks should NOT have been there period!!!!! A barrier of another sort may have spared her life. But those rocks like that she didn't have a chance. I cant believe people who think that someone who sues is out to just get money !!!!!!
Posted by mtnbkr on July 2, 2007 at 11:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
vae4usc,
Well said! I was thinking the same thing regarding the Pepper Trees that line the 118. Many more people have died over the years after going off the freeway and hitting one or more of those trees. And many of them were probably "only" going 70 or 75 (5 or 10 over the speed limit, not 38 over like the girls boyfriend)...I've got news for all of squealing about the cement blocks, if you're in a car going 80+ and you hit something, you're in BIG TROUBLE....There's no way to ELIMINATE the risk associated with driving cars at highway speeds or more, your best bet is to obey the law, but it's no guarantee...
Posted by rachel on July 2, 2007 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have lived in Moorpark my entire life. Those blocks have been there forever. I don’t remember a time when they were not.
As I feel sad for the family that lost their daughter, it seems that they are going after the wrong people in this case. Why should the city have to pay out millions of dollars for this accident? They had nothing to do with it.
The driver of the car should be the one to pay the price, he should have never been driving at 80+ mph on this road. If anyone has driven this road they know that it very twisty and it would be easy to lose control at a normal speed.
Once again it seems that people have let money/greed get the best of them.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on July 2, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Did it not say that if those rocks weren't there they would have gone down a ravine? I will have to re-read. But wouldn't that have been safer then hitting a huge rock???
She may have lived through that. That is my point.
ok it was a GULLY.....so how far down was this gully I would like to know. Had the car rolled down the gully would she have had a chance to live? Or was putting a 3,500 pound rock there the reason she died?
Posted by dad2mygreenbeans on July 2, 2007 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would like to ask anyone who may have an opinion in this case Please keep your comments to yourself unless they ever had tragically lost a child in the hands of an incompetent little piece of trash like Walter Cervantes,. Imagine waking up one day to find out that you are never going to see your daughter again because some guy you already didn’t trust decided to race his friend that evening. The true tragedy here is that Cervantes only received 270 day in jail. He still has the opportunity to wake up every day and go about his life while the Scott family struggles to find out what normal is in their lives even 2 years after her death. Anyone who has ever lost a son or daughter your life is never the same it’s something you just don’t get over you have to find out what normal is in your life again.
Posted by rodrigmr on July 2, 2007 at 9:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I AGREE WITH YOU dad2mygreenbeans- Rude opinions! yes keep them to yourselves! Losing a child whether it be to incompetent people like this situation or just a tragic death period,waking up day after day seeing the beautiful sun come up but not your beautiful childs face is a feeling undescribable. And as far as finding out what is normal in a parents life whether it be 2 years or 15 years--- LIFE IS NEVER THE SAME !!!!!!!!!!!!MY CONDOLENCES FOR HER FAMILY
Posted by cowboyrob on July 2, 2007 at 10:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost a love one through such a tragedy. No amount of jail time will ever bring them back. The fact of the matter though is lawsuits against municipalities generate opinions, since the lawsuits are essentially against the citizens of that community. While some people may be offended by such comments by citizens, the citizens have a right to their opinion as others have a right to disagree with it. I am not a religous person, but I am waiting for the day when someone sues God. What amount of monetary compensation could make the family whole again? It is ironic that human life is priceless...until someone dies when litigaion dictates the value of it.
Posted by dad2mygreenbeans on July 3, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Question I ask my self is; Are they sewing the people or the leadership we have chosen to run our city the article said clearly ( West Los Angeles Avenue is a city street, governed by city rules. If it were a state road, the placement of the blocks would violate the California Department of Transportation's traffic safety standards, which require about 30 feet of clear space adjacent to roadways "to provide a recovery zone for vehicles that have left the traveled way.") If the state has this requirement why shouldn’t we. Sadly the only way to make any government do anything is a lawsuit!
Posted by mtnbkr on July 3, 2007 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The state law requiring 30 feet of clearance as a "recovery zone" seems a little strange, and it obviously doesn't apply to freeways, where the drop off of the right shoulder is very close to the right lane. In any case, at 83 MPH (about 120 feet per second), a car will cover the 30 feet in 1/4 of a second. There is no "recovery" once you lose control at 80+!! You're at the mercy of gravity and any fixed object you run in to.
Posted by Onlinereader2 on July 3, 2007 at 1:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dad2mygreenbeans- "sewing"? Are you serious? Are you literate?
Anyways, 83mph while street racing is never going to end well. The girl was an adult and no doubt already was aware of the fact that her family did not approve of her choice of a companion. She made her choices and he made his choices. The sentence he received was definitely light, but in no way is the city responsible for her death. Maybe if the family did a better job of illustrating the nature of Cervantes, then they would not have lost their daughter.
The blocks are not to blame, the driver and his idiot friends are.
Posted by crf50nut85 on July 4, 2007 at 12:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What ever happened to personal responsibility? While this girls death is indeed tragic, it shouldn't be used to profit from. A five million dollar lawsuit against the boyfriend and his family? His time in jail is punishment enough for what he did, there is no need to ruin his and his entire family's lives. And blaming the City of Simi Valley is absolutely ridiculous. I know the area where the accident occurred quite well, and even if there were no blocks there, she most likely would have been killed anyway going into the gully at 83mph. The land in question is private property and the blocks were placed there by the owner to prevent people from driving on his land and dumping trash on it. It seems to me this woman would have sued some family if the car has crashed into a home. I don't see how suing the City can get private property removed from private land. And the blocks really only present a danger if you are grossly exceeding the speed-limit, but if you are going that fast, nearly anything will kill you.
Posted by jmiller464 on July 5, 2007 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is ridiculous, the blocks are there to protect people, the boyfriend is to blame for driving irratically in an area where speed limits are posted. If he was driving safely, this would have never happened and their daughter would be alive. No amount of money is going to bring their daughter back, it sounds like the family is turning into money hungry fools and not seeing the real reason she is not alive, SPEEDING!!!!
Posted by ministep3 on July 9, 2007 at 9:36 p.m.
(This thread was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by AnnaWhaat on July 13, 2007 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
jmiller464, I agree that the boyfriend was at fault for his speeding. Had he not been this probably never would have killed this girl. I would still like to know if those rocks were put there by the landowner or the city. Its really hard to say if she would have passed if she and her boyfriend had hit something else. My son hit a block wall going 65 and walked away from it......
Either way NO one wins!
Posted by cme on August 1, 2007 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is indeed sad when a young person losses their live because of negligence by others that fail to use good judgment. However I can’t help but feel somewhat different about the father of Cynthia. He tries to act like he is a griever, yet prior to Cynthia death, she was living with her relatives. Her father put her out of his house. He goes on Line to My Space and attempts to sway opinions by accusing others riding in a separate car of racing and being murders. He wasn’t there and had no knowledge of what happen but he slanders others to gain sympathy. His real passion is not love for his daughter but greed for money. A low life like him don’t deserve a damn penny. And for sure the city doesn’t owe him or his lawyers a thing.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.