Last Updated on June 2, 2017 by CCAR Staff
LOS ANGELES >> Five children of a motorcyclist killed in a 2016 hit-and-run crash in Pasadena filed a lawsuit Thursday naming the alleged owner and driver of the Tesla sedan that struck their father.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleging negligence and wrongful death was brought against Charles Zweiback by Brandon Chavez of Pasadena, Andrea Barry of Rialto, Christie Chavez of Los Angeles, Monique Chavez of Moreno Valley and Christopher Chavez of Tarzana.
Zweiback could not be reached for comment on the suit, which seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The driver of the 2015 Tesla Model S 85D that struck Chavez also is a defendant and is identified in the complaint only as Doe 1.
The collision occurred about 11:40 p.m. last Oct. 6 at Marengo Avenue and Washington Boulevard, the Pasadena Police Department reported. Oscar Chavez, 60, of Pasadena died at the scene.
The gray Tesla four-door sedan was heading north on Marengo Avenue at a high rate of speed when it collided with the motorcycle at the intersection of Washington Boulevard, according to police.
“Doe 1 got out of (Zweiback’s) Tesla and fled the scene,” according to the suit, which alleges Zweiback “knew or should have known that Doe 1 was incompetent and unfit” to drive the car.
Zweiback and Doe 1 “acted with malice in that they engaged in despicable conduct in conscious disregard” of the rights and safety of Chavez and his children, the lawsuit alleges.
