A $500,000 settlement ended a string of cases revolving around
an accident at Stevens Canyon Road in Cupertino resulting in two
deaths and a serious injury.
A $500,000 settlement ended a string of cases revolving around an accident at Stevens Canyon Road in Cupertino resulting in two deaths and a serious injury.
Plaintiff Christopher Knapp agreed to the settlement Friday in Santa Clara County Superior Court in the March 2008 accident where a Santa Clara County Sheriff deputy crossed over a double yellow center line on the winding stretch of road in Monterey County.
Deputy James Council accidentally struck three bicyclists, killing two and leaving Knapp seriously injured.
Prior to the incident, Council had been employed by the sheriff’s office for about 18 months. He was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Knapp was the last of the Stevens Canyon cases, which included the county settling a $2.3 million wrongful death claim with John and Betty Peterson for their son Matthew Peterson along with the $1.2 million and $800,000 claims for Karen Clarkson and Rip Gough for their daughter Kristy Gough.
Knapp’s final settlement of $500,000 will be paid by excess insurance carriers and does not directly impact the county’s current budget.
Knapp, who was treated at Stanford Hospital for left arm and right leg fractures, now resides in Germany.
Council still works in the sheriff’s office in a nonsworn position, according to County Counsel Miguel Marquez.
“He’s not on patrol, but doing other duties in the sheriff’s office,” Marquez said.
The last fatal crash involving a Santa Clara County sheriff’s patrol car was in 1994, when a deputy trying to keep a suspect from running struck and killed the man. That deputy was cleared of wrongdoing.
