Caitlyn Jenner sued by family injured in traffic crash

A family who suffered serious injuries in a fatal traffic collision involving Caitlyn Jenner earlier this year sued the Olympic gold medalist on Friday.

The Wolf-Milesi family of Malibu sued Jenner in Los Angeles Superior Court for negligence in the February crash, which killed one woman after Jenner rear-ended her car and pushed it into oncoming traffic on Pacific Coast Highway.

A sport utility vehicle driven by Peter Wolf-Milesi struck a car driven by Kim Howe, killing her. The lawsuit states the four members of the Wolf-Milesi family and another occupant of their vehicle sustained serious injuries in the crash.

Peter Wolf-Milesi suffered serious wrist injuries and his one-month old son was unresponsive after the accident, according to the lawsuit. Wolf-Milesi’s wife also sustained blunt-force injuries and requires ongoing treatment, the suit states.

“The emotional effects of being involved in a collision that has taken the life of another has caused tremendous distress and suffering for the Wolf-Milesi family,” the suit states.

Jenner’s publicist Alan Nierob declined comment Friday.

Sheriff’s investigators determined Jenner was traveling at an unsafe speed for the traffic conditions. Prosecutors declined to file a vehicular manslaughter charge against the 66-year-old Jenner, who was born as Bruce Jenner.

The accident occurred before Jenner announced she is transgender and transitioned into her new identity as Caitlyn.

After the accident, Jenner released a statement expressing sympathy to those involved in the accident.

“It is a devastating tragedy,” the statement read. “I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them.”

Jenner is also facing separate lawsuits by Howe’s stepchildren and the driver of the other car involved in the collision.

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Hearing is set for driver in deadly 2013 Yucaipa bus crash

Two weeks after a San Ysidro man was arrested in connection with a deadly bus crash in Yucaipa that killed eight people, specifics on why he was arrested and charged with eight felonies remain unknown.

Norberto Bravo Perez, 55, was arrested Nov. 18 and booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed eight felony counts of vehicular manslaughter against Perez on Nov. 3.

“The totality of evidence referenced in the affidavit and detailed in the voluminous and thorough reports prepared by law enforcement will come out at the appropriate time during the court process,” District Attorney spokesman Christopher Lee said Tuesday.

Lee declined to comment on the facts supporting Perez’s arrest not included in his criminal case file.

Perez appeared in San Bernardino Superior Court on Tuesday, where a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Though Perez remains behind bars with a bail set at $1 million and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, authorities have not disclosed the reason for his arrest and the filing of criminal charges, referred to in the legal system as probable cause.

The only document produced by the court in support of Perez’s arrest was a 5-page accident report from the California Highway Patrol dated Feb. 3, 2013, the day of the deadly bus accident. That report only details the time, location and circumstances of the accident.

San Bernardino Superior Court spokesman Dennis Smith maintained that the traffic accident report was in fact the probable cause warranting Perez’s arrest.

“To be clear, the information used to determine probable cause was provided by (Deputy District Attorney Britt Imes) to the court,” Smith said.

The CHP report states that passengers of the bus told investigators it had lost its braking capability about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2013. The tour bus was owned by the National City-based company Scapadas Magicas, near the Mexican border.

Perez, an employee at Scapadas Magicas, was ferrying Mexican nationals back to Tijuana after a trip to Big Bear Lake when the crash occurred.

As the bus descended Highway 38 toward Yucaipa, the brakes failed and the bus careened down the mountain. It struck a 2007 Saturn then overturned when Perez failed to negotiate a curve in the road, according to the CHP report.

As the bus slid on its side down the highway, it also struck a dirt embankment, then collided with a Ford F-150 pickup hauling a box trailer. Several people were ejected from the bus. Seven passengers were killed as well as a man driving the pickup, Fred Baily Richardson.

Perez and 30 of the remaining 31 passengers suffered minor to major injuries, according to the CHP report, which also noted that at the time of the accident Perez held a valid class B driver’s license and had a clean driving record.

A cluster of lawsuits filed in May 2013 revealed that Perez was aware of the failing brakes throughout the day during the Big Bear Lake trip and had contacted Scapadas Magicas twice during the day to report problems with the brakes. Each time, Perez’s employers told him to continue the trip.

“Said defendants knew that traveling down the steep and long route from Big Bear California would require a properly functioning braking system and that any failures in the braking system would cause the bus to crash and injure and/or kill passengers on the bus and others on the roadway,” according to one of the lawsuits.

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Chino police officer flown to local hospital after crash

CHINO >> A police motor officer was airlifted to a local hospital after being involved in a collision with a truck Monday afternoon.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the officer was involved in the crash on Central Avenue near the 60 Freeway, said Chino spokeswoman Monica Gutierrez. The officer’s condition was described as stable with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the pickup truck stayed at the scene and was cooperative with investigators, authorities said.

Central Avenue, between Columbus Street and Philadelphia Avenue, was closed for an undetermined amount of time while investigators worked to find the cause of the crash.

Gutierrez said the California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

No determination has been made whether drugs or alcohol were a factor.

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Fontana DUI warrant sweep nets 7 arrests

FONTANA >> Seven people were arrested here Sunday during a sweep that focused on people with warrants related to driving under the influence, police officials said.

Six of those arrested had outstanding warrants for either not appearing in court on their scheduled date or for violating the terms of their probation which stemmed from a DUI conviction, according to a Fontana police statement.

Teams of officers and members of the San Bernardino County Probation Department arrested six people for warrant issues and one person for violating the terms of probation. An additional 58 warrants were checked, but those people were not located.

“The best bet for anyone with a missed DUI court date is to go to court on their own now,” said Sgt. Pat Mackey, in a statement. “If you don’t, that warrant isn’t going away. We’re going to come find you, hold you accountable, and take you to jail.”

Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Coroner identifies man killed in Colton head-on collision

COLTON >> The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Department has identified a Moreno Valley man killed in a head-on collision Friday morning in Colton’s Reche Canyon.

John Patrick Holbach, 21, was driving traveling south on Reche Canyon Road, in a silver 1985 Toyota Corolla, about 5:30 a.m. Friday when he veered into the northbound lanes and collided head-on with another pickup, according to police and a coroner’s press release.

Holbach was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:49 a.m., according to the coroner.

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Fontana woman, child killed in Eastvale crash on Thanksgiving

EASTVALE >> A 27-year-old Fontana woman and a 3-year-old girl died in a crash near the 15 Freeway on Thanksgiving night, officials said.

Firefighters responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash at 10:39 p.m. near southbound 15 in Eastvale. One of the vehicles had rolled over during the incident, according to a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department news release.

Brittney Gambale, 27, of Fontana, died at the scene of the crash in the southbound lanes north of Bellegrave Avenue, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.

Sarenana Mackenzee, 3, also of Fontana, was transported to Corona Regional Medical Center after the crash and was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the crash.

It was not immediately clear if the victims were related.

All southbound lanes of the freeway in the area were shut down after the crash for close to three hours.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident.

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CHP begins Thanksgiving DUI crackdown

LOS ANGELES — Motorists heading out to join friends and family or have other sorts of fun during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend need to remember to drive sober and safely — or there could be consequences, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The agency will initiate its annual Thanksgiving “maximum enforcement period” today at 6 p.m., when all available officers deploy to catch DUI offenders, speeders and other traffic violators.

The effort will continue until 11:59 p.m. Sunday night.

During last year’s Thanksgiving maximum enforcement campaign, the CHP arrested nearly 1,000 people statewide for suspected DUI, about 16 percent fewer than the year before.

A total of 45 people died in collisions on roads and highways under the CHP’s jurisdiction during the 2014 Thanksgiving weekend. That represented a 36 percent jump from the prior year, said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

“Having a safe Thanksgiving drive this year — and being here to enjoy next Thanksgiving — can be as simple as buckling up,” Farrow said. “Nearly half the people who died in the CHP’s jurisdiction over Thanksgiving last year were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.”

The maximum enforcement period coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Buckle Up America — Every Trip, Every Time,” campaign, emphasizing seat belt safety.

“Buckling up, avoiding distracted driving, traveling at a safe speed, designating a sober driver — all are especially important during the holidays,” Farrow said.

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Actor John Stamos pleads no contest to misdemeanor DUI charge

LOS ANGELES — Actor John Stamos pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of a drug stemming from his arrest in Beverly Hills.

Stamos, 52, was ordered to complete two hours of drug and alcohol addiction-related counseling, attend 52 Alcoholics Anonymous sessions and to spend three years on probation, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Stamos did not appear in court. The plea was entered by an attorney on his behalf.

Stamos was arrested June 12 in Beverly Hills after police stopped his vehicle near Canon Drive and Brighton Way in response to reports from witnesses that he was behaving strangely and driving erratically, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The type of drug was not revealed by authorities.

Stamos — who appeared on the TV series “General Hospital” and “Full House” — stars in the TV show “Grandfathered.”

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Mother, widow of newlywed killed in fire truck collision sue L.A. County

The mother and widow of a newlywed who was killed in a collision with a fire truck in Agoura Hills while driving to a wedding rehearsal dinner for his brother are suing Los Angeles County and the truck’s driver.

Eric Stein, 36, and his wife Ksenia Rozen, both of San Clemente, were en route to the event when their car was hit by the truck while Stein was making a left turn along Mulholland Highway about 5 p.m. on July 31, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Stein was scheduled to be best man at his brother’s wedding.

The lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Rozen and Stein’s mother, Karen Kirn, in Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names as defendants Los Angeles County and Michael Aplanalp, who was driving the fire truck.

A spokesman for the county did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit, which alleges wrongful death and negligence and seeks unspecified damages.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department issued a statement after the accident that said the department was “deeply saddened by the tragic death of Eric Stein. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

The suit alleges the truck was being driven too fast and that Aplanalp was “unsafely passing on the left on a two-lane highway” before colliding with the couple’s car.

Rozen witnessed the death of her husband and continues to suffer from emotional distress, according to the complaint.

Stein and Rozen married six months before the accident after dating for eight years, according to previous news accounts.

The fire truck was carrying 13 female inmates from Fire Camp 13 in Malibu, authorities said at the time.

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