An off-duty Los Angeles County Fire Department captain killed in 2019 when his Jeep crashed into the back of a Caltrans dump truck on the northbound 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita died of his own negligence, state attorneys say in new court documents.
Capt. Michael Shepard, a 63-year-old Agua Dulce resident, died in a hospital on January 23, 2019, with the collision occurring around 11:15 a.m. just south of Sand Canyon Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the Caltrans dump truck, which was part of a street sweeper operation, was traveling through the central medial area heading north when it was rammed by Shepard’s Jeep.
Continuing in the Los Angeles Superior Court trial are his widow, Catherine Shepard; their son, Clint Shepard; and their daughter, Conni Billes. Family members declined a $1.5 million settlement offer, according to a defense attorney’s brief.
The plaintiffs allege that Beltran’s truck had no flashing or rotating amber lights and that there was too much distance between his truck and the Caltrans vehicle behind him, making it harder to know the truck was among the scanning details.
But attorneys representing the state, dump truck driver Pedro Gonzalez Beltran and Herc Rentals Inc. say Shepard caused the crash.
“The state contends that (Shepard) was not moving at a reasonable speed,” the defense attorneys’ brief states.
Instead of slowing down and making sure he had passed all the vehicles involved in the sweeping operation, Shepard instead tried to pass another vehicle and crashed into the back of the dump truck, according to defense lawyers.
“(Shepard) should have made sure he was safe before attempting to change lanes,” the defense attorneys’ brief read. “Instead, (Shepard) may have assumed that he had passed the sweeping convoy and, in his impatience to move (the other vehicle), he changed lanes when he was not not sure to do so.”
If Beltran was a driver like anyone else on the highway whose vehicle stalled, Shepard still would have hit the rear end, the defense brief says.
On the day of the incident, Caltrans was conducting a sweeping operation with seven vehicles, including one from CHP, which required the “moving closure” of the left shoulder and HOV lane of the freeway.
Beltran was driving partially in the middle shoulder and partially in the HOV lane when he stopped to clear debris from the center divider, the defense brief says.
“After retrieving the debris, Beltran threw it into the back of the truck and sat in the driver’s seat,” the defense attorneys’ brief read. “He put the truck in gear, took his right foot off the brake and started driving north. As soon as the truck began to move, Beltran felt a violent impact from behind.
Caltrans employees later testified in depositions that vehicles in a sweeping convoy must keep a safe distance from each other because even though they are traveling at low speeds, dump trucks have to stop often to pick up trash and debris, according to defense attorneys. trial memory.
“As such, the larger vehicles behind Beltran… had to maintain a reasonable distance so that they could stop accordingly,” the defense attorneys’ brief states.
