MODESTO — The parents of a bicyclist who was killed in a 2010 hit-and-run collision near Turlock have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the driver, her parents and a sergeant of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.
Vanessa Carrillo, 23, pleaded no contest in May to felony hit-and-run resulting in injury and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death of 27-year-old Sacramento resident Patrick O’Connor.
The civil complaint alleges that Vanessa Carrillo’s parents, Elizabeth and Juan Carrillo, were negligent in response to their daughter’s actions and that Stanislaus County sheriff’s Sgt. Marc Nuno obstructed the investigation because of his alleged relationship with Carrillo.

Nuno and Vanessa Carrillo were involved in a “personal, intimate relationship that commenced long before and continued after the September 1, 2010, death of Patrick O’Connor,” the complaint sates.
Vanessa Carrillo was a criminal-justice student at California State University, Stanislaus, and met Nuno through the law enforcement ride-along program.
During the investigation into the collision, “Nuno provided advice and counsel to defendant Vanessa Carrillo in an attempt to evade, avoid and minimize the consequences of her criminal act,” the complaint alleges.
It further states that Nuno asked a California Highway Patrol officer and his sergeant not to perform any field sobriety tests on Vanessa Carrillo or require her take a chemical test to determine if she was under the influence at the time of the collision. None were performed.
Attempts by The Bee to reach the plaintiffs and the defendants Friday were not successful.
The complaint, filed by O’Conner’s parents, Jim and Mary O’Connor, in late June, alleges the following:
On Sept. 1, 2010, Carrillo struck O’Connell from behind with her Toyota Corolla along Fulkerth Road west of Turlock. The car hit his bicycle [...]