Claims agency is to blame for death
Gilroy – The tow truck driver who killed Caltrans employee Sean Merriman in April has filed a cross-complaint against Caltrans, laying the blame with the government agency.
Vasquez was driving on U.S. 101 in San Jose, where Caltrans workers were repairing potholes. His truck skidded into a Caltrans truck in the third lane, pushing it into a second Caltrans truck. Merriman was crushed between the two trucks, and died of major trauma. He was a Gilroy resident and former city public works employee, the son of Craig and Jacqui Merriman, known for her devotion to Gilroy’s homeless.
Louis Estrada Vasquez entered the cross-complaint Nov. 10, two months after the Merriman family filed a civil suit against both Vasquez and Ponzini Community Garage, Inc. in Morgan Hill, where Vasquez was employed as a truck driver. He also faces criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter.
“They’re trying to point their fingers at somebody else,” said attorney Robert Bohn, Jr., who is representing the Merriman family. “From what I’ve seen of the police report, with the information I have now, it does not look like there’s any negligence by Caltrans … The responsibility is squarely on Ponzini Community Garage and their driver.”
Repeated calls to attorney Eugene F. West, who is representing Vasquez, were not returned.
A Caltrans representative could not be reached for comment.
ilroydispatch.com
