Parents Sue USC For Fatally Injuring Grad Student Daughter

On December 3, 2015, at 6:30 a.m., Officer Miguel Guerra was driving his USC DPS Ford Explorer on W. Jefferson Blvd. on his way to a routine call-in. Crash data downloaded from the DPS vehicle shows that Guerra had the accelerator pedal at 100% and was traveling 69 mph—freeway speed—in a 25 mph school zone.

Guerra did not have his headlights on, his emergency flashers on, nor his siren on. Preliminary investigation reveals Guerra was up all night before the collision, posting on Facebook. Two empty energy drinks were found in his vehicle.

Kelsey Dresser was turning left on Royal St. into the USC campus. Guerra was a block away when Kelsey began turning. He did not slam on his brakes until one-half of a second before impact, even though he had unobstructed visibility of Kelsey's left turning vehicle. After slamming on his brakes, Guerra departed his lane and violently impacted Kelsey's vehicle. The collision was captured on a USC surveillance camera. The impact demolished the left side of Kelsey's vehicle and sent it skidding 40 feet into a brick barricade. Kelsey was seat-belted, but her head collided with the collapsing vehicle structure, causing brain damage and internal injuries. She was pronounced dead the following day.  

According to the lawsuit, Guerra was unsupervised by DPS and poorly trained. The Los Angeles City Attorney is currently prosecuting Guerra for vehicular manslaughter, while USC continues to employ him.

The Dressers are represented by attorney Craig McClellan of The McClellan Law Firm.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MThLjshCkYo

SOURCE The McClellan Law Firm