$3.47 Million Awarded to Jogger
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A 23-year-old Chula Vista man who suffered brain damage when he was hit by a car while jogging three years ago was awarded $3.47 million Wednesday by a San Diego Superior Court jury that found the county and the driver of the car at fault for the accident.
Lee Joseph Johnson was hit June 14, 1989, while jogging along Sweetwater Road in front of Rohr Park in Bonita. He remains disabled and lives at home with his parents.
After a two-week trial, the jury hit the county for $2.46 million, including all $1.9 million of Johnson’s medical bills and lost wages, figuring that the county had been negligent in designing protection for pedestrians when it widened Sweetwater Road several years ago.
The jury ordered driver Patrick Garza Jr. to pay the rest, according to Johnson’s attorney, David Casey Jr. Judge Mack Lovett presided over the case.
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