The widow and three children of one of two people killed when their pickup truck was rear-ended in Glendora in February are suing the driver of the other vehicle and its owners.
Reyna Abarca, who was married to 41-year-old Jorge Abarca of El Monte, filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and minor son and daughter on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Jorge Abarca’s adult child, Alexis Abarca, also is a plaintiff.
The suit names as defendants William Roger Katchmar and Advanced Inverter Services Inc. The wrongful death/negligence suit seeks unspecified damages.
A representative for Yucaipa-based Advanced Inverter Services could not be immediately reached Friday for comment.
Jorge Abarca and Viridiana Salinas-Rivera, 24, of Pasadena, died at the scene of the crash on the Foothill (210) Freeway near Amelia Avenue about 10 a.m. Feb. 24, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Salinas-Rivera was driving a 1995 Toyota pickup truck in the fast lane and reduced her speed behind a car in that slowed down ahead of her, the CHP said. Salinas-Rivera’s truck was then hit from behind by a Ford F-350 pickup truck driven by Katchmar, the CHP reported.
Salinas-Rivera’s truck was pushed to the left and stuck the center divider wall, causing Jorge Abarca to suffer fatal blunt force trauma, the suit states.
Katchmar was traveling faster than reasonable under the circumstances and did not stay a safe distance from the victims’ vehicle before the collision, the suit alleges.
After the accident, the freeway was closed briefly in both directions to allow a medical helicopter to land, the CHP said.
