The family of a Hayward truck driver who died when his truck plunged into the water from the S-curve on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Caltrans on Wednesday. The suit claims Tahir Sheikh Fakhar died because of inadequate warning signs before the curve, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
California Highway Patrol investigators said they thought Fakhar may have been driving 10 mph over the 40 mph speed at the time. The speed limit on the rest of the bridge is 50 mph, but was reduced to 40 mph for the curve. Fakhar had not driven on the bridge since the curve was installed a month prior, his family says. There had been 43 accidents on the curve, none of them fatal, prior to Fakhar’s deadly crash.
The lawsuit alleges that Caltrans design was negligent and failed to warn drivers in advance that they were coming into the dangerous curve. After Fakhar died, officials installed warning signs, striping and other safety measures.
The personal injury attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving wrongful death. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-888-395-3551.
