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Defendant Phil Oates attends opening statements in a trial over a wrongful death lawsuit against him at Placer Superior Court in Auburn on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
ZIYU JULIAN ZHU<\/p>\n
julian.zhu@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
The photos shown to a Placer County jury on Tuesday weren\u2019t terribly dramatic \u2014 a red Cadillac with damage on its rear passenger side and a motorcycle on the ground \u2014 but they symbolized a vehicle crash that cost a retired CHP officer his life and put a leading Sacramento area businessman in an uncomfortable spotlight.<\/p>\n
The images were displayed in court as opening statements began Tuesday in a wrongful death case<\/a> against developer and minority Sacramento Kings owner Phil Oates. The businessman, 75, sat in the front row of the courtroom in Auburn\u2019s historic Maple Street courthouse, wearing a gray suit and black headphones to amplify the statements and testimony.<\/p>\n Oates was at the wheel of the Cadillac on a sunny early evening in 2024, heading east on Douglas Boulevard in Granite Bay as Patrick Mulderrig, on the motorcycle, drove west. Oates turned left in front of Mulderrig toward Kingsgate Drive, and the motorcycle slammed into the Cadillac, propelling Mulderrig into the air and leading to his death, both sides agreed.<\/p>\n The businessman and host of the annual Phil Oates Celebrity Golf Tournament had not been drinking, and was not ticketed in connection with crash, a police report showed. A police officer at the scene said he cooperated and had not been grossly negligent. Prosecutors declined to file charges.<\/p>\n But Mulderrig\u2019s widow, Miranda Flores, filed a lawsuit seeking up to $30 million in damages. Her attorney, Roger Dreyer, said in his opening statement on Tuesday that he would present evidence showing that Mulderrig suffered before he died, and that Flores\u2019 emotional and economic losses in connection with his death were high.<\/p>\n What was lost<\/p>\n The widow, who sat on the far right side of the courtroom near the jury box while the panel was being selected on Monday, was not in court for opening statements and testimony by Mulderrig\u2019s sister on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Mulderrig was 60 when he died, and his wife, 19 years younger, was 41, Dreyer told the jury. The couple met when she was 21 and he was nearly 40. He retired a year after their 2014 wedding, and spent the rest of his days caring for her and their home, Dreyer said.<\/p>\n Mulderrig\u2019s life expectancy was around 80, Dreyer said. He showed the jury of eight men and four women<\/a> a chart with the value of Mulderrig\u2019s CalPers pension over the next 20 years \u2014 more than $2 million.<\/p>\n He also said he would present evidence that Mulderrig continued to have brain activity for five hours after the crash, implying that he might have felt pain during that time \u2014 for which Flores could be compensated.<\/p>\n How to weigh tragedy<\/p>\n But attorney Chris Hogan, representing Oates, said paramedics and the doctor who treated Mulderrig at Sutter Roseville Medical Center reported that he was unconscious and in a coma the entire time. He was not administered pain medication at the hospital, even during surgery as doctors tried to save his life, Hogan said.<\/p>\n Mulderrig was \u201cat all times unmoving and unresponsive,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cHe never regained consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n The case was sad, Hogan said, and Oates had made a mistake while driving that he had acknowledged. As the case continued, Hogan said, he would ask the jury to carefully weigh the economic value of any damages owed to Flores.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not asking you to (deny) this tragedy,\u201d Hogan said. \u201cWe\u2019re just asking you to measure it carefully within the confines of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 9:00 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Attorney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SAC_ZJZ_7552.JPG\" "\\"SAC_ZJZ_7552.JPG\\"")
Attorney Roger Dreyer shows a picture of Phil Oates\u2019 red Cadillac during Oates\u2019 trial in a wrongful death case at Placer Superior Court in Auburn on Tuesday. ZIYU JULIAN ZHU julian.zhu@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"Phil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SAC_ZJZ_7998.JPG\" "\\"SAC_ZJZ_7998.JPG\\"")
Phil Oates\u2019 attorney Chris Hogan speaks during opening statements of a trial regarding a wrongful death lawsuit against Phil Oates at Placer Superior Court in Auburn on Tuesday. ZIYU JULIAN ZHU julian.zhu@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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