A civil lawsuit alleging wrongful death and negligence has been filed against a food-service company and its truck driver, who was accused of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs in a crash earlier this year that killed two men in Orcutt.
The family of Rick Jay Motley filed the lawsuit in Santa Barbara County Superior Court against Sysco Corp., Sysco Ventura and driver Gil Patrick Pena, who was arrested on suspicion of causing the Feb. 7 double-fatal crash.
Motley, 60, of Orcutt, and Jesse Gluyas, 24, of Solvang, were killed when Pena’s truck slammed into the back of their vehicle near the intersection of Highway 135 and Union Valley Parkway.
The 6:30 a.m. crash involved five passenger vehicles in addition to the Sysco big-rig loaded with food and other items.
Motley and Gluyas were on their way to a job site at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Additional victims, all Santa Maria residents, were treated at the scene for minor injuries. They ranged from ages 20 to 51, according to the California Highway Patrol.
An autopsy identified Motley’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries from the wreck.
The CHP said Pena, 56, of Santa Maria, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Criminal charges against Pena had not been filed in Superior Court as of Thursday as CHP officers were conducting additional investigation into the wreck.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Oxnard attorney Mark Hiepler named Motley’s widow Mary, and children, James and Jared, as plaintiffs.
The complaint alleges that Pena failed to apply the truck’s brakes and was driving at excessive and unsafe speed at the time of the crash.
According to the lawsuit, Sysco should have been aware that Pena had a prior history of speeding, cell phone use, red light violations, and coasting in neutral on a downgrade.
It also claims the crash and Motley’s death deprived the family of love, companionship, care, comfort and future earnings.
The plaintiffs were seeking special, general and exemplary damages along with funeral and burial expenses.
The civil lawsuit filing represents one side of the case with defendants’ attorneys expected to file their response in the coming months.
A case management conference before Judge Timothy Staffel was scheduled for Sept. 3.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.