Big-rig driver Gabriel Manzur Vera, who was involved in collisions that killed cyclist and Santa Cruz teacher John Myslin in Santa Cruz in 2007, Lauren Perdriau Ward, a 47 year-old mother of two from Los Altos hills was also was driving during a third fatal accident in Moss Landing in 2003.
Police determined Vera was not at fault for the prior fatal accidents in Moss Landing and Santa Cruz and continue to investigate the Portola Valley collision that killed Lauren Perdriau Ward, a 47-year-old Los Altos Hills mother of two, were heading west on Alpine Road in the far right lane when the left side of his truck collided with Ward as the two approached Interstate 280, according to the California Highway Patrol.
On Dec. 31, 2003 on Highway 1 near Moss Landing, Vera was hit head-on by Annette McDaniel, 53, who crossed into the oncoming lane and struck his truck, California Highway Patrol officials said. McDaniel, of Watsonville, died at the scene.
Vera acknowledged the Moss Landing accident in a deposition he gave last year as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit for a collision with Santa Cruz teacher John Myslin, who was cycling north on Mission Street when he collided with Vera’s tractor-trailer.
A two-month investigation followed the 2007 Santa Cruz collision and investigators determined Myslin, a popular Pacific Collegiate School teacher, tried to pass on the right side of Vera’s 26-wheeler and was struck as the truck turned right onto Bay Street.
Vera and the demolition company he’s worked for almost 20 years, Randazzo Enterprises of Castroville, agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the Myslin case in March.
A subsequent fatal accident unrelated to Vera also involving a cyclist and a big-rig occurred at the same intersection as the Myslin accident the following year on April 8, 2008. Chris Rock 41, of Santa Cruz was riding his bike and was struck and killed by a big-rig being driven by Paco Hernandez Sanchez who was employed by Hildebrand Trucking. That case is currently set for trial on January 24 2011, in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The family of Chris Rock is being represented by Richard Alexander of Alexander Law Group, LLP, LLP.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a truck accident contact the the truck accident specialists at the Alexander Law Group, LLP by email or call 888.777.1776. All calls free and confidential.
