SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (BRAIN) — Industry veteran Paul Deem is suing the state of California and the city of Newport Beach over an accident that killed his wife in 2013.
Debra Healy Deem died in August last year after being struck by a car while cycling on the Pacific Coast Highway. The driver, 85-year-old Robert James Anderson, was charged with manslaughter and negligence, but his trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 12. On Wednesday, a Superior Court judge dismissed the case after the District Attorney's office said it would not retry it.
Deem's lawsuit alleges the city and the state were aware that the intersection where the collision occurred was unsafe but failed to do anything about it.
"The bicycle lane on this particular stretch of Pacific Coast Highway disappears, which forces motorists to use their judgment as to where the lanes of separation are," said attorney Bruce M. Brusavich of the law firm AgnewBrusavich, which represents Deem in the case.
"All the other intersections on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach have bike lane continuations through the intersection. It's unacceptable that such a dangerous intersection still exists."
Paul Deem raced the team pursuit for Team USA at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, finishing tenth. He also won the gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games and held several national records and championships in his racing career.
After his racing career, he worked for Univega Bikes owner Lawee Inc. and later opened the retail store Cycle Werks, which currently has stores in Costa Mesa and San Clemente. (Related: 2008 BRAIN article about Cycle Werks.)
In a statement from his law firm, Deem said he hopes the lawsuit will help improve the safety of this stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.
