L.A. to Pay $600,000 to Parents of Child Killed by Sweeper

The city of Los Angeles will pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the parents of a toddler killed when he was run over by a street sweeper in Sun Valley last year, attorneys in the case said Friday.

“No amount of money ever could compensate them for their child, but they are glad that it is over,” said attorney Aileen N. Goldstein, who represented parents Guadalupe Vizcara and Enrique Renteria, both 24, of Sun Valley.

Vizcara was holding the hand of her 23-month-old son Arturo Renteria on June 25 when they stepped off the curb to cross Saticoy Street at Vineland Avenue and were struck by a nine-ton sweeper turning the corner. The vehicle knocked Vizcara aside but the infant was pulled underneath.

The driver of the sweeper and the pedestrians both had a green light, but pedestrians had the right of way, Goldstein said.

The couple filed a $2.5-million lawsuit against the city after the accident.

Asst. City Atty. Wade McConnell, who handled the settlement for the city, said the city wanted to avoid trial because the case “looked to me like the city was liable and we were better off to settle. It was an extremely attractive offer, and probably a lot less than a jury would have told us to pay.”

Goldstein said she recommended the settlement even though a jury might have awarded more money because backlogs in civil court cases would have delayed any trial for nearly five years. Goldstein also said a trial would have placed tremendous strain on the mother to relive the incident.

No criminal charges were filed in the case because the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office found insufficient evidence of negligence by the driver, Troy Dolliole of Los Angeles.

“Clearly it was an accident,” Goldstein said. Dolliole was “clearly broken up at the time and even later when we took his deposition.” The lawsuit was formally dismissed in Glendale Superior Court on Feb. 28, she said.