Cal Poly student’s parents file lawsuit after deadly crash at Hwy. 101 crossing
The parents of a Cal Poly student killed last year at a dangerous intersection of Highway 101 in Arroyo Grande filed a lawsuit Tuesday against various agencies and a motorist convicted criminally for their son’s death.
Since the death of 18-year-old Jordan Grant in October 2018, Caltrans has closed down the intersection of El Campo Road and Highway 101 where Grant collided with a car making an “unsafe” left-hand turn across the highway.
The motorist, 43-year-old Richard Guili of Arroyo Grande, was also criminally charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for the crash.
Guili pleaded no contest to the charge in August and was sentenced on Sept. 12 to 18 months of formal probation and ordered to pay a yet-to-be-determined amount of restitution.
Under the terms of the plea, Guili will serve no jail time.
Jordan Grant, of Plano, Texas, was a first-year computer engineering student at Cal Poly.
His parents, James and Rebecca Grant, filed their civil complaint in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Tuesday against Guili, the State of California, the County of San Luis Obispo, the City of Arroyo Grande, and the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) after administrative claims submitted to the jurisdictions and agencies were rejected in April and May, according to court records.
Their complaint alleges each jurisdiction is liable for their negligence in maintaining the intersection, and that Guili was negligent in operating his vehicle when he caused the crash that killed Jordan Grant.
Guili did not yet have a civil attorney listed in court records, and James Murphy, his attorney in the criminal case, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers declined to comment on the pending litigation.
San Luis Obispo County Counsel Rita Neal wrote in an email that her office had not yet been served the complaint Wednesday morning.
“This was a tragic accident and very sad for all involved,” Neal wrote of Grant’s death. “However, we will defend this matter as we do not believe liability rests with the county.”
Arroyo Grande City Attorney Heather Whitham likewise wrote in an email that her client was not liable for Grant’s death.
“Our only comment would be that the accident occurred within the unincorporated area of the county, not within the jurisdiction of the city, nor in an area controlled or maintained by the city,” Whitham wrote.
Pete Rodgers, executive director of SLOCOG, also said that agency shared no liability.
“This was a most devastating accident, and our sincere sympathies extend to the families affected by this tragedy,” Rodgers wrote. “Because SLOCOG was not a responsible party, we shall defend the lawsuit accordingly.”
Arash Homampour, the Grant family’s Sherman Oaks-based attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.
A tragic crash on Hwy. 101
On Oct. 7, 2018, Grant was riding a motorcycle southbound on Highway 101 near El Campo Road when Guili allegedly attempted to make a left turn onto the highway in a 2018 BMW.
The CHP previously said Guili pulled out in front of Grant’s 2015 Yamaha motorcycle, causing Grant to slide into the left side of the BMW.
Grant was pronounced dead at the scene; Guili was not injured.
The Grant family’s complaint filed Tuesday alleges the state, county, city, and SLOCOG “owned, operated, managed, controlled, designed, planned, engineered, maintained, installed and/or inspected the subject intersection.”
Additionally, the lawsuit states, Guili negligently drove the BMW “so as to cause the vehicle to collide” with Jordan Grant.
The complaint alleges that the El Campo Road intersection constituted a dangerous condition on public property in that, among other things, the roadway lacked proper safety measures and proper signage to reduce speed or warn of crossing motorists, the width of the roadway, and the number of lanes to cross.
Those elements, in addition to the high rate of speed, decreased sight lines, traffic volumes, and open median created “a dangerous condition and foreseeable risk of injury to normal users of the roadway,” the complaint states.
“Said conditions were allowed to exist unremedied and there was a significant accident history at the location,” the lawsuit says. “This was inherently dangerous and created a trap, peculiar risk, and nuisance.”
The collision was “foreseeable” to the local government, the family argues, “and, yet, they failed to warn (or adequately warn) drivers.”
The family is seeking at least $25,000 in damages for the “loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support for decedent Jordan Benjamin Grant, as proven at time of trial.”
The case is scheduled to be heard in court in January.
Deadly highway crossing closed
Following a grassroots effort by Grant’s parents to prohibit such dangerous turns onto the highway, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors in April agreed to send a letter to Caltrans supporting the elimination of medians at four Highway 101 intersections, including the intersection at El Campo Road.
Caltrans has since closed the El Campo intersection so that left turns are impossible.
But SLOCOG staff has said “more in-depth, project-specific studies” are required before the county can pursue more long-term solutions.
Residents in the area have called for an overpass over the highway to maintain traffic and emergency access routes to their neighborhood. The move would additionally help address safety on the road.
James Grant has pledged $100,000 to an alliance of local homeowners to help get an overpass built, according to previous Tribune reporting.
