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City of El Paso v. Segura3/13/2003
Eduardo Segura filed this suit against the City of El Paso, Texas, Martin Alvarado, and the Dan Williams Company after he was injured in a motorcycle accident on a public street. The City filed both a plea to the jurisdiction and motion for summary judgment on the grounds of sovereign immunity. The trial court denied the City's motions. The City brings this interlocutory appeal as authorized by Tex.Civ.Prac.&Rem;Code Ann. ยง 51.014 (Vernon 1997). We reverse and render.
FACTUAL SUMMARY
The City of El Paso contracted with the Texas Department of Transportation ("TXDOT") to conduct road improvements on a section of Doniphan Drive, which is a state-maintained roadway. The construction began in June 1999 and ended in August or early September of that year. TXDOT provided the construction management and contracted with the Dan Williams Company ("DWC") to provide the actual improvements. DWC placed warning signs, barricade barrels, and a directional light generator as required by its contract with TXDOT. The two northbound lanes merged into one lane at the point of the directional sign's original location.
The City agreed to acquire the funding for any required right-of-way and any easements necessary for the project. The City also paid for construction of a storm drainage system. But it neither contracted with nor provided instruction to DWC. In the words of DWC's designated representative, the City had nothing to do with the project.
On July 28, 1999, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Martin Alvarado was driving north on Doniphan Drive. He was intoxicated and fatigued. As Alvarado approached the intersection, he fell asleep. His vehicle struck the barricade barrels and the directional light generator that was directing the northbound traffic into one lane. The vehicle continued traveling north approximately 500 feet until it came to a stop in the right northbound lane where it blocked northbound traffic. The directional light generator was moved approximately 150 feet north and propelled into the middle of Doniphan's two southbound lanes where it lay on its side and partially blocked both lanes. Several of the barricade barrels were moved as well.
At 1:36 a.m., the El Paso Police Department dispatch received a 9-1-1 call reporting the accident. An EMS unit was dispatched at 1:37 a.m. and a police unit was dispatched at 1:38 a.m. The EMS unit arrived at the scene of the accident first and parked the vehicle in the median such that it blocked the northbound lanes of Doniphan. Alvarado's vehicle was positioned in the right lane and the EMS vehicle was to its left.
Officers Raul Garcia and Arcadio Alcantar responded to the dispatch and approached the scene of the accident, arriving at 1:53 a.m. The officers asked one of the EMS technicians for details and discovered that Alvarado had hit something down the road. They drove south on Doniphan to investigate and found the light generator laying on its side in the middle of the road. After determining that the sign was much too large to be moved without a wrecker, the officers called for assistance at 1:55 a.m. The generator was "very visible" and the surrounding area was well lighted. Consequently, the officers did not place any flares on the road to alert drivers to the sign. Because they were concerned that someone would run into the EMS unit or Alvarado's vehicle, they left the site of the generator and returned to the scene of the accident. In the process, they observed two vehicles which were able to pass the downed directional light generator without hitting it. The officers positioned their police vehicle behind Alvarado's and activated the flashing emergency lights.
Eduar
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