BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A $22 million settlement was reached in a civil lawsuit following a crash involving Bakersfield police that killed a 31-year-old man and severely injured the passenger in 2023.
Rodriguez & Associates announced the settlement.
The crash happened on January 19, 2023, on Muller Road and South Vineland Drive while police were in a pursuit with a truck. The crash between BPD and an uninvolved vehicle left the driver, Mario Lares, dead and Ana Hernandez severely injured.
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Two Bakersfield police officers and one woman were hospitalized in a deadly crash that killed another man. Photo Credit: KBAK/KBFX
After pre-trial hearings and two days of jury selection, the City of Bakersfield offered the settlement. Rodriguez & Associates accepted on behalf of Hernandez and Lares’s family.
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The lawsuit alleged that then-Officer Ricardo Robles drove his police vehicle at nearly 80 mph through a stop sign at the intersection of South Vineland and Muller Roads without activating overhead lights or a siren, colliding with the 2013 Honda Accord carrying Lares and Hernandez.
According to court filings and prior reporting, supervisors had called off the vehicle pursuit before the crash.
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The complaint was filed in April 2023. It further alleged that Robles failed to stop at a marked stop sign at a poorly lit rural intersection and violated Code 3 policy governing the use of emergency lights and sirens when clearing intersections. The City of Bakersfield was alleged to be liable as his employer for acts committed within the scope of his employment, according to a release by Rodriguez & Associates.
In 2024, Robles pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter in connection with the crash. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 500 hours of community service.
“This case is about a life that was lost and a life that was permanently changed,” said Daniel Rodriguez, founder and president of Rodriguez & Associates. “Mario should be here. Ana continues to live with the consequences of that night. While no amount can restore what was taken, this settlement provides meaningful support for both families and affirms that responsibility matters when public safety policies are ignored.”