The Corona family of a freeway worker killed by a suspected drunken driver filed a lawsuit this week against Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol.
Connor Penhall, 21, of Corona, was working on Interstate 10 in Baldwin Park in April 4, 2012, when police said an Arcadia man drove through a construction zone and struck and killed him.
Penhall was the son World Speedway Motorcycle Racing champion Bruce Penhall, who also acted in one season of the television series “CHiPs.”
The Penhall family filed a wrongful death suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Flatiron Construction Company, Caltrans and the CHP, claiming they did not take proper precautions on the freeway to protect Penhall’s safety.
The family is seeking unspecified payment and damages.
Caltrans officials declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is a pending case.
The driver accused of killing Penhall, Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, 37, of Arcadia, is charged with second-degree murder.
Road crews had closed lanes with road cones at Francisquito Avenue. Just before midnight, Sakamoto drove through the construction zone and struck Penhall at 60 mph. Penhall was thrown 50 to 75 feet and died at the scene.
In the lawsuit, the family alleged Caltrans and road crews did not follow protocol to install proper barricades.
Flatiron Construction employees began setting up the closure at 11 p.m. while a CHP officer ran a traffic break to taper cones across all lanes for a complete freeway closure. The lawsuit says Sakamoto ran over a single 2-foot cone and did not face any additional barricades before striking Penhall.
The family contends that CHP officers assigned to the road project were not positioned at the front of the construction zone, but instead [...]