BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — An 88-year-old Shafter woman was killed in a crash involving a Kern County Sheriff's deputy at the intersection of Lerdo Highway and Magnolia Avenue.
Maria Cervantes Vasquez was a passenger in a Nissan Altima driven by her son on March 22. The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Lerdo Highway when the crash occurred.
Attorney Daniel Rodriguez, who is representing the family of Vasquez, filed a wrongful death claim against Kern County. Rodriguez claims Deputy Juan Cuevas was driving southbound on Magnolia Avenue and failed to stop at a stop sign, causing the fatal crash.
Drivers on Lerdo Highway do not have a stop sign at the intersection, but there is a stop sign for drivers on Magnolia Avenue.
"I mean, as you're going southbound on Magnolia, you go past about 400 feet from the intersection, there's a stop ahead sign that meets all the regulations, it's illuminated on the roadway surface, it says, stop ahead. And then when you get to the intersection itself, the stop sign, it's a stop sign with a flashing beacon light on it. And there's a limit light and it says, stop. So how could you miss that," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said there is a lot of investigating to do, noting it is unknown if the deputy had his emergency lights and siren activated at the time of the crash.
"We'll look at six months' history of it. If during those six months, we see that that car has been traveling 70, 80, 90, 100 miles an hour, and not been on a code three, 3 authorization, that tells us there's a history here," Rodriguez said.
The family of Vasquez wants justice and for the deputy to be treated like everyone else, according to Rodriguez.
"And what that means is, if the shoe were on the other foot, and it was one of them, a civilian, who ran the stop sign in front of a deputy sheriff, and that deputy sheriff got killed, like Ms. Vasquez. What do you think would happen," Rodriguez said.
The California Highway Patrol Buttonwillow office is investigating the crash. The investigation is expected to take weeks, and once completed, the results will be forwarded to the Kern County District Attorney's Office.
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