Fact pattern
On the morning of November 4, 2023, Maria Reyes was driving her personal vehicle westbound on Milliken Avenue in Ontario, California, when a semi-truck operated by defendant John Doe, an employee of Pacific Western Logistics, Inc., failed to stop at a red traffic signal and struck her vehicle broadside at the intersection with the I-15 off-ramp. The impact was at highway approach speed. Witnesses at the scene described the truck as never slowing before the light. Emergency personnel transported Ms. Reyes by ambulance to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where she was admitted with acute cervical and lumbar pain.
Subsequent MRI imaging confirmed herniated discs at C5-C6 and L4-L5. Ms. Reyes underwent an extended course of physical therapy and has been unable to return to her position as a licensed vocational nurse for approximately one year due to lifting restrictions. Her treating physicians have indicated that surgical intervention remains a possibility depending on response to conservative treatment. Medical expenses incurred to date are substantial, and her future care needs are still being evaluated.
Records later obtained in discovery indicate that John Doe had driven approximately fourteen hours in the twenty-four-hour period preceding the collision, which may implicate federal hours-of-service regulations applicable to commercial vehicle operators. Pacific Western Logistics maintained electronic logging device data for the truck; plaintiff has sought production of those records along with the driver’s prior safety history with the company.
Procedural posture
The complaint was filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court in July 2024, and defendants answered in September 2024. The case is currently in the written discovery phase: form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and requests for production have been served and responded to, with plaintiff moving to compel further responses to document requests concerning the driver’s safety record and the company’s safety training protocols. A trial-setting conference is scheduled for late May 2026, at which the court is expected to assign a trial date in the first quarter of 2027.