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Hernandez v. Department of Transportation12/15/2003
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Kathleen Hernandez, the family of Ashlee Hernandez and Rochelle Ramos filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) after Ramos and Kathleen Hernandez were injured and Ashlee Hernandez was killed in an automobile accident at the Lower Azusa Road off-ramp on the Interstate 605 freeway. They contend the lack of a guardrail at the accident location constituted a dangerous condition of public property. The trial court granted Caltrans's motion for summary judgment, finding the action was barred by statutory design immunity as a matter of law. We reverse.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
According to the undisputed facts presented in connection with Caltrans's motion for summary judgment, the accident at issue in this case occurred on September 10, 1999. Plaintiffs were passengers in a Toyota Camry driven by Melinda Martinez. The Camry was pursued by a Kia driven by Ramos's former boyfriend Raul Contreras, Jr. The Kia chased the Camry from surface streets in West Covina to the Interstate 10 freeway and then to the northbound Interstate 605 freeway. The cars were traveling at a high speed when Contreras intentionally rammed the Camry. Frightened, Martinez attempted to exit the freeway at the Lower Azusa Road off-ramp, with Contreras still in pursuit. The Camry, which was then traveling at 75-to-80 miles per hour, struck a Dodge Caravan and skidded off the roadway and down an embankment. Ashlee Hernandez was killed; Kathleen Hernandez was rendered paraplegic; and Ramos allegedly suffered brain injuries. Hernandez sued Caltrans, alleging the lack of a guardrail at the site of the accident constituted a dangerous condition of public property pursuant to Government Code section 835.
Caltrans moved for summary judgment (the motion) on four grounds:
(1) It could not be liable because it had no duty to protect Hernandez against the unforeseeable criminal acts of Contreras; (2) Hernandez could not establish "dangerous condition" liability as a matter of law because the off-ramp was not being used with due care and in a reasonable foreseeable manner when the accident occurred; (3) Hernandez could not prove Caltrans had either actual or constructive notice of any dangerous condition at the accident site; and (4) Caltrans had an absolute defense to the action based on the design immunity provisions of Government Code section 830.6.
Hernandez opposed the motion, arguing (1) although Caltrans owed no duty to protect her from the unforeseeable criminal acts of third parties, it owed a duty to prevent dangerous conditions of public property such as that allegedly existing at the accident site; (2) the existence of a dangerous condition at the off-ramp is a question of fact that, based on the conflicting evidence presented by the parties, cannot be resolved on summary judgment; (3) Caltrans had evidence of three previous "run-off-the-road" accidents near the accident site within the 18 months preceding the accident; and (4) triable issues of fact existed as to the applicability of the design immunity defense.
With respect to the discretionary approval element of Caltrans's design immunity affirmative defense, with its summary judgment motion Caltrans presented evidence the off-ramp at issue was part of a construction project designed in the late 1960's and completed in May 1971. The off-ramp was built as designed without guardrails at the location where the Martinez car left the roadway. The design plan shows the existence of the embankment, its approximate height and slope and the locations where guardrails were to be placed -- a total of 875 feet of guardrail along the 1575-foot r
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