A former Gilroy resident who was left disabled after a gruesome accident near the Red Barn last January has sued Caltrans, Monterey County and the driver of the car with which she collided for an unspecified amount of money.
A former Gilroy resident who was left disabled after a gruesome accident near the Red Barn last January has sued Caltrans, Monterey County and the driver of the car with which she collided for an unspecified amount of money.
Anna Reznik, 66, now a Milpitas resident, is confined to a wheelchair as a result of a Jan. 20, 2009, crash at the intersection of San Juan Road and U.S. 101, near the Red Barn. The collision also killed her passenger, Olga Tarcher, 91.
Reznik was driving southbound on U.S. 101 in the left lane approaching San Juan Road when another motorist, Yong Ae Bowman, 69, who was stopped at the stop sign on eastbound San Juan, made a left turn onto U.S. 101, directly into the path of Reznik’s vehicle.
The crash killed Tarcher and fractured Reznik’s feet, ankles, left leg, pelvis, forearm and shoulder, said Reznik’s attorney, Boris Efron.
“Anna is completely disabled,” Efron said. “She is suffering constant physical pain, which is not adequately relieved with powerful medications. She is emotionally and psychologically devastated. At age 66 she is not likely to ever work again, walk unassisted or enjoy any semblance of the active life she once knew.”
Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers said he could not comment on pending litigation.
“This tragedy did not have to happen,” Efron said.
Efron called the intersection of U.S. 101 and San Juan road a “death trap.”
In the lawsuit, Reznik seeks “reasonable compensation for the catastrophic injuries she sustained and the once active, happy, and productive life that she will never have again,” Efron said. He did not name a specific dollar figure.
