BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Claims filed against the city of Bakersfield in connection to a fatal three-vehicle collision on Harris Road back in April accuse the city of allowing an unsafe roadway in the area despite having prior knowledge of the unsafe conditions.<\/p>\n
Three claims were filed on behalf of the estates of Omar Zacarias and Silvia Reyes<\/a> — a father and mother killed in the crash — and their surviving son.<\/p>\n On April 23 at around 6:45 p.m., Omar Zacarias and Silvia Reyes were traveling eastbound on Harris Road in their silver Ford SUV and stopped at the four-way stop intersection at Summer Springs Drive.<\/p>\n A driver of a silver Toyota SUV, later identified as Sandra Lee Slaydon, approached the intersection at a high speed, “violently rear-ending” Zacarias and Reyes’ vehicle.<\/p>\n Zacarias and Reyes were pronounced dead at the scene. Slaydon was taken to Kern Medical and pronounced dead less than an hour later.<\/p>\n The claim argued the city of Bakersfield had explicit prior knowledge of the unsafe design and dangerous condition of Harris Road.<\/p>\n These include a 45 mph speed limit adjacent to a school zone, stone backyard walls limiting visibility and a lack of traffic safety measures or flashing signage, according to the document.<\/p>\n The claim also mentioned the city had received community complaints for years and that the area had a known history of several fatal crashes.<\/p>\n “The city of Bakersfield had long-standing, explicit notice of the hazardous conditions at the intersection of Harris Road and Summer Springs Drive but failed to implement sufficient corrective infrastructure,” the claim read.<\/p>\n