February 2, 2022 | By Greene Broillet & Wheeler
A birthday celebration turned tragic when Heather Garcia fell off a party bus, a 1999 Ford E-350 Super Duty, on the northbound 101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles. Garcia would have turned 30 just days after the accident. Instead, her family has been left to mourn her untimely death.
As reported by Fox 11, Garcia was dancing in the back of the party bus when she fell onto the backdoor. The door gave way, opening out onto the 101. Garcia was left to fall onto the open road, where she was hit by an Isuzu truck. The truck driver stayed and cooperated with the California Highway Patrol.
Attorney Christian Nickerson weighed in on the well-documented dangers of party buses on Fox 11 after Garcia’s tragic death.
“These incidents keep happening throughout the country, and the public needs to know that this is a serious safety issue,” Attorney Nickerson told Fox 11.
As a partner at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, Attorney Nickerson represented the family of 24-year-old CJ Saraceno who was killed in a similar incident. While changing the music on the radio, the party bus swerved; Saraceno lost his balance, fell down the stairway and was ejected through the front door of the bus. He plunged onto the 101 Freeway and was struck by the rear tires of the party bus and several cars.
“Unfortunately, there was a complete lack of maintenance on the door,” Attorney Nickerson said.
Attorney Nickerson helped Saraceno’s family reach a $4 million settlement with the party bus company for negligently maintaining the door. CHP had cited the party bus owners for safety violations five months before the incident, but the defendant continued to operate the vehicle without making repairs. The case helped expose the gaps in the enforcement of safety regulations for limo companies that use these vehicles. Sadly, therefore, Garcia’s accident was not unprecedented.
Garcia is survived by her partner of 12 years and their 5 children.
To help Garcia’s family with their unexpected loss, visit their GoFundMe page here.
Our team at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP would like to send our deepest condolences to those who knew and loved Garcia. It is a terrible tragedy to lose someone, and only worse when they were taken away far earlier than expected. We send our best wishes to Garcia’s family during this heartbreaking time.
Our Los Angeles trial lawyers have fought for those injured and bereaved for years. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss on a limousine, we have the experience and proven results to fight for your rights. We also take on attorney referrals, as we are proud to team up with other legal professionals and get clients the best results possible.