Trial to last through next week
By KATHLEEN BISHOP Special to the Daily Press
SM COURTHOUSE — Defense attorneys cross-examined an expert witness Monday in the second week of a civil trial involving a lawsuit against the city of West Hollywood, levied by a man who was permanently injured when he was hit by a car in a crosswalk.
Jason Eli Sayers sued the city of West Hollywood in 2001 for negligence and dangerous condition of public property, claiming that the motion sensor and flashing lights surrounding the crosswalk weren’t working.
D. Michael Lyden, the attorney representing West Hollywood, questioned traffic safety engineer Robert Crommelin, attempting to cast doubt on the city’s responsibility and the danger posed at the intersection.
Crommelin, a witness for the plaintiff, fielded questions about petitions signed by citizens lobbying for improvements at the intersection, as well as the CalTrans traffic manual, and the effects of a traffic signal at the intersection.
Lyden’s questions meant to show that a traffic signal was not warranted at the intersection, according to a CalTrans manual, and that nothing the city could do would predict or prevent driver and pedestrian behavior. Lyden attempted to prove that West Hollywood exceeded standards with pedestrian crossing signs and a crosswalk, and is not responsible for the accident.
Lyden and Crommelin calculated that there had been seven pedestrian accidents at the intersection in roughly 11 years, which equals 31 million vehicles per accident. Crommelin agreed that was a “number to be expected.”
Santa Monica-based attorney TRIAL, from page 1 Mark Quigley, who is representing Sayers, said the city’s own studies show that city officials knew of dangerous conditions at the intersection and chose to do nothing about them.
“They know the pedestrian traffic is heavy, they know the vehicle traffic is very heavy... their own studies show that zero out of 42 motorists yield for pedestrians at night,” he said.
The accident happened in 2001, when Sayers, then 26, was walking across the crosswalk at Sunset and Alta Loma. He was struck by a vehicle driven by Danielle Mason. Sayers was tossed 28 feet in the air and landed on his head, suffering major brain damage.
The city of West Hollywood argues that the responsibility rests on those involved. Since the lights and sensors on the crosswalk had not been working for a long time, neither Sayers nor Mason could have been depending on them for their safety, Lyden argued.
The case is being heard by Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker. Both sides waived their rights to a jury trial. Quigley said he expects to rest his case on Wednesday, after putting a total of 15 witnesses on the stand. Lyden said he expected the trial to last through the middle of next week.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 5, 2004. Read the original PDF.