The Region - News from March 27, 1985

A Santa Barbara man who struck and killed a jaywalking pedestrian with his expensive Italian sports car sued the county for allegedly mishandling the car after the accident. Godfrey (Jock) Nairn, 45, contends that the county should pay him about $31,000 in general damages and $50,000 in punitive damages for mistreating his red 1963 Maserati. The Superior Court suit also alleges that county officials insufficiently protected the auto, allowing it to incur more than $14,000 in damage while it was in storage. A defendant, Dist. Atty. Thomas Sneddon, and Assistant County Counsel Marvin Levine, who will handle the suit, both declined comment. Franklin R. Trueblood, 22, was killed when he darted across U.S. 101 at State Street against a red light on Oct. 2, 1983. Nairn fled the accident scene, but turned himself in the next day. He pleaded guilty to felony hit-run driving and was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine, serve 31 days in jail, and his driver’s license was revoked for a year.