Jury Awards $1 Million to Freeway Crash Victim

A Ventura County jury has awarded more than $1 million to a former Oxnard man whose pickup was rear-ended by another vehicle when he stopped on the Simi Valley Freeway to avoid hitting a trailer that was blocking the road in front of him.

The jury found that Raphael Sanchez, 27, suffered $1.5 million in damages as a result of the Sept. 22, 1989, collision, but the monetary award will be reduced by 25% because the panel also found Sanchez partly at fault.

Attorney John H. Howard, who represented Sanchez at the seven-day trial, said the accident occurred after Carleton Dean Martin of Simi Valley lost control of his vehicle, causing a trailer he was pulling to overturn and block the road.

Sanchez came upon the scene and, concerned that people might be on the roadway, slowed to a stop, Howard said. The attorney said Sanchez’s pickup was then rear-ended by the vehicle of a third driver, Andrew Hegel.

Sanchez suffered a concussion when his head knocked out the rear window of the new pickup truck he was driving. He also hurt his back and suffered compound fractures, Howard said.

Sanchez, a journeyman mold maker who now lives in the San Fernando Valley, lost his business as a result of the accident, his attorney said.

The jury concluded that Martin was 55% responsible for the accident because he created the dangerous condition. Hegel was 20% at fault, and Sanchez bore 25% of the responsibility, Howard said.

Attorneys for Martin and Hegel could not be reached for comment.