Suit Filed by Family of Youth Killed by Fleeing Vehicle

The family of a Costa Mesa youth who was fatally struck by the vehicle of a fleeing suspect during a high-speed chase filed a wrongful-death suit Monday against the suspect and the City of Costa Mesa.

Roy Williamson, a 17-year-old Estancia High School student, was in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen last Dec. 12 when the car was broadsided at the corner of 19th Street and Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa, the suit said. Williamson was pronounced dead on arrival at Fountain Valley Community Hospital. William Dearing, 17, the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two seniors had left school during a mid-morning break, apparently without permission, and were pulling out of a doughnut shop parking lot when their car was struck by a van driven by Ruben Mayorga Valle, who was allegedly fleeing Costa Mesa police in a stolen vehicle. According to the suit, the chase lasted about 10 minutes at speeds up to 80 m.p.h.

“The high-speed chase was initiated by the Costa Mesa Police Department when other tactics or actions could have been used by the police to apprehend the suspect,” the suit said. Costa Mesa has an agreement with Huntington Beach for helicopter surveillance, the suit says, but a helicopter was not dispatched in time to help prevent the accident.

The City of Huntington Beach, three Costa Mesa police officers and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District were also named in the suit, which was filed by Williamson’s parents, Keith and Sharon, and sisters, Diedre Williamson and Merritt Anthony.

The family sued for unspecified hospital and medical expenses, general damages and compensatory damages. The Williamsons filed a $4-million claim against Costa Mesa, said attorney Andrew Hollins, but it was denied.

“We’re suing the cities involved because we feel their chase policy did not reasonably protect the safety of the members of the public, that they failed to execute the chase in a manner that provided safe passage in the streets for members of the public,” Hollins said in a telephone interview.

According to the attorney, Valle awaits trial on charges of first-degree murder and grand theft.

Lt. John Moquin, a spokesman for the Costa Mesa Police Department, declined to comment on the lawsuit.