Relatives of Downed Cyclist Plan to Continue Suit Against County

Relatives of a bicycle-riding entertainment attorney who was fatally struck by a patrol car driven by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy will move forward with a lawsuit against the county, despite prosecutors’ decision not to pursue charges against the deputy, a lawyer for the family said today.

“The county has acknowledged that Deputy (Andrew) Wood was driving while distracted,” said attorney Bruce Broillet, who represents the family of Milton Everett Olin Jr., a former chief operating officer for Napster.

“The Olin family intends to move forward with their lawsuit to hold the county, the Sheriff’s Department and Deputy Wood accountable through the civil justice system,” Broillet said.

Citing “insufficient evidence,” the District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday it would not file any charges against Wood, who was using a mobile digital computer just before his patrol car struck the 65-year-old Olin on Dec. 8, 2013.

“Wood briefly took his eyes away from the road precisely when the narrow roadway curved slightly to the left without prior warning, causing him to inadvertently travel straight into the bike lane, immediately striking” Olin, who was riding eastbound in the bicycle lane on Mulholland Highway shortly after 1 p.m., according to a charge evaluation worksheet.

“Wood entered the bicycle lane as a result of inattention caused by typing into his MDC (mobile digital computer),” according to the document, which said Wood was responding to another deputy who asked if a call involving a fire on school grounds at Calabasas High School had been resolved.

“Since Wood was acting within the course and scope of his duties when he began to type his response ... he acted lawfully,” the document states.

According to the charge evaluation worksheet, evidence indicated Wood’s statement that he had sent his last text message while his patrol car was stopped at a red light, while waiting to make a left turn onto Mulholland Highway more than a minute before the collision, was consistent with GPS and cell phone records, and that there was “no evidence that he was engaged in any other activities, such as using his personal cell phone, at the time of the collision.”

Olin’s family sued the county July 16, alleging wrongful death and claiming the deputy was negligent. The lawsuit, which also names the Sheriff’s Department and Wood, seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Broillet called the refusal to file charges an example of “the government protecting its own despite its behavior.”

“That is why it is so important that we have an independent civil jury that demands public entities answer to incidents of wrongdoing,” Broillet said.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.