AUSTIN, Texas — A lawsuit has now been filed after a crash on Friday night on Barton Springs Road resulted in several injuries.
Attorney Brad Bonilla filed the suit on behalf of Jesus Raul Moncada, who was reportedly standing at a food truck waiting to buy ice cream at Holla Mode when he was struck. Bonilla claims he suffered head injuries and bleeding.
In the wake of the crash, Bonilla said he has the following concerns:
- Disappointed that no criminal charges filed yet; at a minimum this meets requirements to pursue reckless driving (Class B misdemeanor)
- Lack of criminal prosecution/tickets is a driving factor for dangerous roads
- Civil justice system is means to obtain justice; when criminal charges are not pursued it is the sole means for holding wrongdoers accountable and is important to set a high price to deter future conduct.
- City of Austin may be exempt from liability under Texas Tort Claims act (discretionary function exception) for allowing a food truck vendor to be that close to the road. We cannot use the civil court to hold City liable, but we hope the City takes a second look at how close food trucks are allowed to the road because this type of incident is foreseeable and, unfortunately, will likely happen again.
According to the suit, the driver of the 2015 Ford F350 admitted to traveling between 50-60 mph in a 35 mph zone. However, they claim he was not ticketed for speeding. It also claims his license had a "B" restriction, meaning it is required that he has a licensed driver over 21 in the front seat with him, which he reportedly did not at the time of the crash.
Meanwhile, the driver of the 2009 Toyota Scion was making an unprotected left turn from Barton Springs onto Serzing Street when the crash occurred. The Scion was forced into the crowd of people, injuring a total of 11 people.
Both drivers are named in the suit. Moncada is seeking monetary relief between $250,000 to $1 million.
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