$2 million settlement in Fresno boy’s death
Chris Collins The Fresno Bee
Originally published 2006.10-18
The family of a 9-year-old Fresno boy who died after he was run over by a flatbed truck and trailer has settled a lawsuit with the truck driver and his employer for a little more than $2 million--an unusually large sum for such a case, attorneys on both sides say.
The agreement came Monday, just one day before a jury was scheduled to be selected for the case.
“It’s a tough case when it involves losing a child,” said the family’s Fresno attorney, Warren Paboojian. “But the company did the right thing.”
Cantrell Deon Dewayne Ellis was killed Aug. 26, 2004, while riding his bicycle in the Golden Dawn housing subdivision north of Kings Canyon Road and east of Fowler Avenue. His family lived in the partially-built southeast Fresno development and Cantrell was on his way to Fancher Creek Elementary School that morning.
Fresno resident Brian Silveira, who was 28 at the time and working for Fresno-based Sierra Building Materials, was driving a truck about 8:20 a.m., delivering drywall to a house under construction In the development.
A trailer carrying a 30,000-pound forklift was connected to the back of the truck. As Silveira backed up the truck, the trailer struck Cantrell , who was riding on a residential street.
The trailer dragged the fourth-grader about 15 feet. Cantrell died at the scene.
Paboojian says Silveira was under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred and had not been properly trained to drive a truck, although the police report says Silveira had a license to drive trucks. Paboojian also says Silveira didn’t ask his passenger to check if anyone was behind the truck before he backed up.
The suit says Sierra Building Materials also was at fault because it did not perform a background check on Silveira with the California Department of Motor Vehicles before hiring him.
Scott Dickerson, a manager at Sierra Building Materials, said Tuesday that the boy’s death was a “tragic incident.” He wouldn’t comment on the settlement.
But the supply company’s Fresno attorney, Lowell Carruth, said his clients think the settlement was a fair amount of money.
“My clients are sorry,” he said. “They hope the resolution of the case will allow everyone to move on with their lives.”
Carruth denied that Silveira had been drinking. He said that the 0.01% alcohol detected in Silveira’s system two hours after the accident could have been a natural result of food fermenting in his body.
Both Carruth and Paboojian said the $2,065,000 settlement was somewhat hefty compared to similar cases that have been settled.
“I’ve seen very few cases for children that settle over a million dollars,’ said Paboojian, who has practiced law in Fresno for 21 years. “It’s one of the larger settlements in the Valley involving a child”
Paboojian said the Ellis family declined to comment on the settlement.
Silveira pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter last month and was sentenced to three years probation and 90 days supervised community service. The District Attorney’s Office did not file any alcohol-related charges against Silveira,
Carruth said the accident “changed the life of Mr. Silveira.”
“Not a day goes by without him thinking about it,” he said.
Chicago-based L&W Supply Corp., the parent company of Sierra Building Materials, will pay the settlement.
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