LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Sheriff’s Dept. Loses Bid of Immunity in Crash Deaths

A judge has ruled that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department does not have a clearly defined vehicular pursuit policy and therefore cannot claim immunity for the deaths of a woman and her unborn child in an auto accident in South-Central Los Angeles.

Superior Court Judge Ernest G. Williams ruled this week in the case of David Vargas, who is suing the county, the Sheriff’s Department and the deputies who were chasing the car that struck Vargas’ automobile at Broadway and Imperial Highway, killing Vargas’ pregnant wife, Guadalupe Soto.

The ruling means Vargas will be able to bring his suit to trial and the county and the Sheriff’s Department “will have to reconsider their pursuit policy and bring it into compliance” with California’s vehicle code, according to Vargas’ attorneys, William B. Hanley and Juan C. Basombrio.

But Sgt. Larry Lincoln, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said the ruling “does not represent any overall judgment as to whether or not Sheriff’s Department personnel acted reasonably during the pursuit. . . . (It) simply denies an immunity claim and permits the case to move forward in trial.”

Sheriff’s investigators said the accident occurred Nov. 11, 1992, as Deputies Bryan McBride and Moses Barraza were chasing a Cadillac believed to have been involved in a holdup. The investigators said the Cadillac ran a red light and struck the Vargas vehicle broadside.