The family of a 5-year-old boy, who was one of two children struck and killed by a van while walking to school in Riverdale, Maryland, last year, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, alleging that multiple defendants, including the county, contributed to his death.
The 22-page suit seeks up to $58 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
The suit was filed on behalf of Sky Sosa’s mother, Laura Palacios, against Prince George’s County Fire & EMS, the Prince George’s County Board of Education and two private individuals, including the driver of the van.
It cites “systemic failures” as a significant contributor to Sosa’s death.
On the morning of Nov. 20, 2023, Sosa and 10-year-old Shalom Mbah were walking in a crosswalk at an intersection near Riverdale Elementary School with Sky’s father, Franklin Sosa, when a van, driven by Olga Lugo Jimenez, struck them.
The children were both taken to the hospital, where they later died. Franklin Sosa, was also hit but sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“We’re trying to get some justice for Sky’s family and for Sky’s death,” said Christian Hudson, a partner at the law firm of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, which is representing the Sosa family.
Jimenez, of Hyattsville, was making a left turn when she hit the children.
In June of this year, she was indicted on charges of criminally negligent manslaughter and causing serious physical injury and/or death of a vulnerable individual while operating a motor vehicle.
The complaint asserts that “at least 83 vacant crossings needing a guard had been left vacant by the Prince George’s County Police Department, which hadn’t even scheduled interviews to fill those slots until December 2023.”
Hudson told WTOP that the Prince George’s County Board of Education was aware the lack of crossing guards was a dangerous situation and allowed the tragedy to occur, but did nothing about it.
The suit also accuses the county itself of failures in emergency response procedures and traffic safety, claiming it took the Prince George’s County Fire and Medical Services Department roughly half an hour to arrive on the scene.
“We also want to make sure that the county does not allow a situation like this to happen again,” Hudson said.
Last week, the family of Shalom Mbah, the 10-year-old girl killed in the crash, also filed suit against Prince George’s County.
WTOP reached to the Prince George’s County Executive Office which had no comment, citing the pending lawsuits.
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