SOUTH COUNTY : Damages Awarded in Crash on Ortega

An Orange County Superior Court jury on Monday awarded a woman and her son $676,000 for injuries suffered in an auto accident on a stretch of Ortega Highway notorious for hazardous driving conditions.

Natalie Bush, 26, of Murrieta suffered a broken spine and severe head injuries in the accident on Oct. 31, 1990, when she failed to negotiate a curve and her car plunged down a 150-foot cliff. Her son, Daniel, 4, received minor injuries.

The jury in Santa Ana found the state of California liable on the grounds that Caltrans had done nothing to remedy hazardous driving conditions that were already known, said attorney Peter Seidenberg, who represented Bush and her son. The jury ordered the state to pay the son $1,000 for his injuries, but awarded $675,000 to his mother.

The jury found Bush 50% liable for the accident. As a result, a judge is expected to reduce her award to $337,500, Seidenberg said.

An attorney for the state and a Caltrans representative did not return phone calls seeking comment.

In March, Caltrans, without admitting liability, agreed to pay $2 million to a motorist whose car skidded off the highway and crashed into a deep ravine on Oct. 19, 1990, just days before the Bush crash. In that accident, Paul Meyer of Murrieta was left partially paralyzed.

Both accidents occurred on a tortuous stretch of the South County road that has been the site of a large number of accidents and fatalities. As far back as 1984, residents complained about the number of traffic accidents in the area, Seidenberg said.

In 1992 there were 87 accidents, two of them fatal, on the stretch of Ortega Highway about 14 miles east of Interstate 5.

Caltrans plans to install metal guardrails along dangerous parts of the road, officials have said.

“It’s going to cost about $250,000 to install (guardrails) but it’s a shame that it had to come after so many tragedies,” Seidenberg said.

Evidence at the trial showed that accidents along the more hazardous sections of Ortega Highway occur at 23 times the expected rate, he said.

A witness testified that he believes that Bush might have been trying to race with someone when the accident occurred, but Seidenberg said his client was not speeding. Both mother and son were wearing seat belts, he said.