Jurors rule a District Attorney’s employee ran a red light, causing a crash. Plaintiff’s attorney said he would have accepted $500,000 from county.
Emanuel Butler of Rialto was injured in a collision with a San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office investigator at Third Street and Lena Road in San Bernardino in 2020. A jury on Monday, March 23, ordered the county to pay Butler $6 million.
Jurors have ordered San Bernardino County to pay a Rialto man $6 million for injuries he suffered in a 2020 traffic collision that they determined was caused by a district attorney’s office investigator running a red light — a dollar figure that the victim’s attorney said could have been millions less had the county settled. Daniel Kramer, managing partner and founder of Kramer Trial Lawyers, which filed the lawsuit, said he offered to settle the case in 2022 for the cost of Emanuel Butler’s medical bills and noneconomic damages — $500,000 — but the county countered with only $140,000. The investigator, Jorge Lozano, had maintained throughout most of the case that he had a green light, the attorney said. “This case should have been resolved years ago,” Kramer said Tuesday, a day after the jury made its order. The jurors at the San Bernardino Justice Center deliberated for about half an hour Friday, March 20, and 90 minutes Monday, March 23, before announcing their decision at the end of a nearly monthlong trial. Butler, 60, is a caretaker for a relative and has been limited by back and neck injuries after the crash and couldn’t afford to bring in help before the verdict, Kramer said. The lawyer said that the county surreptitiously filmed Butler for 40 hours, apparently hoping to catch him living without limitations. The county never showed the video at trial, Kramer said, but he did — to show that Butler was injured. “He’s relieved and feels vindicated,” Kramer said. “When the jury read their verdict, and I told him about it, he was in tears.” Emanuel Butler faces more back surgeries after a 2020 traffic collision that a jury on Monday, March 23, determined was caused by a San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office investigator who ran a red light. Ex-East Bay cop sentenced to prison for crimes of violence, ending massive police corruption probeExperts: Record settlement in Vallejo police killing of Sean Monterrosa unlikely to affect cop’s current job He was brought to jail instead of the hospital, and died within hours. A California judge just OK’d his mother’s lawsuit. Jurors awarded Butler $3 million for future pain and suffering, $2 million for past pain and suffering, $765,000 for future medical bills and $237,314 for past medical expenses, Kramer said. County spokesman David Wert said that because officials are considering appealing the judgment, it’s premature to say how much of the $6 million would be covered by insurance. “This case is about accountability,” Kramer said. “This crash never should have happened. It began when an undercover law enforcement officer ran a red light and was compounded by false statements about what occurred. The jury saw through it.”About 12:30 p.m. Sept. 30, 2020, Butler was driving his Ford F-150 east on Third Street in San Bernardino toward where Lena Road ends at Third at a T intersection. Lozano was driving a county-owned Ford Explorer north in Lena, preparing to turn left onto Third at the signaled intersection. Lozano told investigators that he had a green light, but Butler said it was he who had the green, Kramer said. Lozano later said his view of the light might have been hindered by tinting on his windshield, Kramer said, but then later testified that he had a green light.The San Bernardino Police Department investigated and concluded that Lozano ran a red light and caused the crash. That report was not admissible at the trial, Kramer said, because it was up to jurors to find fault and that the investigating officer was relying on hearsay. “I hope this brings some accountability and prevents something like this from happening to someone else,” Butler said through his lawyer. “The jury was asked to consider whether Mr. Butler’s speeding was a factor in the crash, and whether Mr. Butler overtreated based on his attorney’s advice,” said Wert, the county spokesman.The DA investigator, after viewing a surveillance video of the collision, believed he had run a red light, Wert said.Bay Area weather: Rain is forecast to break the long dry spell. Here's when to expect it.Harriette Cole: Did I fail a moral test when I saw this man's phone get stolen?Miss Manners: They won't even set a menu until the guests arriveMass deportations could jolt Bay Area economy and trigger job losses, report warns
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