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萨城赔偿1100万美元！亚裔祖孙在人行横道上发生车祸！
（SACBEE）Exclusive: Sacramento paid $11 million settlement after car hit boy, grandmother in crosswalk
独家报道:萨克拉门托向，人行横道上被撞倒的男孩和祖母，支付了1100万美元的赔偿金
The city of Sacramento quietly paid an $11 million settlement to a family last year — one of the largest payouts in city history — after an elderly woman and her grandson were hit by a car in a crosswalk.
萨克拉门托市去年悄悄向一个家庭支付了1100万美元的和解金，这是该市历史上最大的和解金之一，原因是一位老太太和她的孙子在人行横道上被一辆汽车撞了。
In January 2018, QuiChang Zhu, 72, and her grandson Jian Hao Kuang, 6, were using a crosswalk to cross Freeport Boulevard at Oregon Drive, according to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court. The intersection — located between South Land Park and Hollywood Park — has no traffic lights.
据萨克拉门托县高等法院提交的一份诉讼文件显示，2018年1月，72岁的朱启昌(音)和她6岁的孙子广建豪(音)在俄勒冈大道上通过自由港大道的人行横道。位于South Land Park 和 Hollywood Park 之间的十字路口没有红绿灯。
A sedan driver traveling north on Freeport Boulevard struck the pair, killing Zhu and causing severe injuries to Kuang, including catastrophic and permanent brain damage, the lawsuit said.
诉讼称，一名在自由港大道上向北行驶的轿车司机撞倒了两人，导致朱死亡，广严重受伤，包括灾难性和永久性的脑损伤。
The crosswalk had existed for years on the busy corridor, but prior to the incident, it appeared the city had removed most of the paint, but left imprints or depressions where the painted rectangles had been, the lawsuit said.
该诉讼称，人行横道在这条繁忙的走廊上已经存在了多年，但在事故发生之前，城市似乎已经清除了大部分油漆，但在油漆过的矩形区域留下了印记或凹陷。
“In fact, the markings left at this crossing had the dangerous effect of being visible to pedestrians giving the impression the crossing was still intended to be a marked crosswalk, but not being visible to approaching motorists on Freeport Boulevard,” the lawsuit said.
该诉讼称:“事实上，在这个十字路口留下的标记有一个危险的效果，行人可以看到，给人留下的印象是，该路口仍然是一个有标记的人行横道，但在自由港大道上接近的司机看不到。”
In addition, the city also removed pedestrian warning signs and painted advance warnings on the roadway, the lawsuit said.
此外，该诉讼称，该市还拆除了行人警告标志，并在道路上绘制了预先警告。
The City Council is required to approve all settlements over $100,000. The council discussed the case behind closed doors on Jan. 28, 2020, but a settlement was not announced in the public meeting that followed. The Sacramento Bee obtained the settlement agreement, finalized in February 2020, through a California Public Records Act request.
所有超过10万美元的和解都需要市议会批准。该委员会在2020年1月28日闭门讨论了这一案件，但和解协议没有在随后的公开会议上宣布。《萨克拉门托蜜蜂报》通过加州公共档案法的请求，获得了2020年2月最终敲定的和解协议。
City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said the settlement will fund a special needs trust for Kuang. He will be unable to pursue regular employment, the lawsuit said.
市检察官苏珊娜·阿尔卡拉·伍德(Susana Alcala Wood)表示，和解协议将为广的一个特殊需求信托基金提供资金。该诉讼称，他将无法寻求正常工作。
“As the City Attorney for Sacramento, it often is my responsibility to help reconcile supremely tragic events that befall residents of our city,” Alcala Wood said in a statement to The Sacramento Bee. “This case — which involved the death of a grandmother and the serious injury of a young boy as the result of a traffic collision — is certainly one of the most tragic. Our hearts go out to the Kuang family for the pain they have experienced and the losses they have suffered. The settlement agreement with the family was designed to include a special needs trust that ensures that Jianhao Kuang is cared for throughout his life. Meanwhile, the City remains committed to following all federal and state guidelines regarding the designs for our streets and to doing everything in our power to improve their safety.”
“作为萨克拉门托市检察官，帮助调解降临在我们城市居民身上的极其悲惨的事件往往是我的责任，”阿尔卡拉·伍德(Alcala Wood)在给《萨克拉门托蜜蜂报》(the Sacramento Bee)的一份声明中说。“这起交通事故导致一名祖母死亡，一名小男孩严重受伤，这无疑是最悲惨的案件之一。我们对广一家所经历的痛苦和所遭受的损失深表同情。与家人达成的和解协议包括一个特殊需求信托，以确保广建豪的一生都得到照顾。与此同时，萨城仍将致力于遵循联邦和州的所有街道设计指导方针，并尽一切努力提高街道的安全性。”
The settlement is believed to be the largest city payout since a $15 million payment to the family of a girl who died at Camp Sacramento in 2016.
此次和解被认为是自2016年向一名死于萨克拉门托营的女孩的家人支付1500万美元以来，该市最大的一笔赔偿。
The City Council holds closed-session meetings, such as the one during which the settlement was discussed, when talking about issues in public could disadvantage the city, the public and taxpayers, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
市发言人斯旺森(Tim Swanson)说，市议会会举行闭门会议，比如讨论和解方案的会议，在公开讨论可能对城市、公众和纳税人不利的问题时。
“An example of this is matters pertaining to pending litigation, as public discussion of the City’s legal assessment could benefit the opposing counsel,” Swanson said in an email. “Also, public discussion on certain matters could violate attorney/client privilege. If there was no report of actions taken by Council following this closed session, it would be because the Council did not take any reportable action related to the item in question, or the Brown Act did not require disclosure at that time.”
“一个这样的例子是有关未决诉讼、作为城市的公共讨论的法律评估对方律师可能会从中受益,”斯万森在一封电子邮件中表示。此外，公开讨论某些问题可能会侵犯律师/当事人保密特权。如果没有关于安理会在这次非公开会议后所采取行动的报告，那将是因为安理会没有就有关项目采取任何可报告的行动，或者布朗法案当时没有要求公布。”
Because the council discussed the case before the settlement agreement was signed by the plaintiffs, state law did not require the city to announce the settlement in open session after they exited the closed meeting, said David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition.
第一修正案联盟(First Amendment Coalition)的执行董事戴维·斯奈德(David Snyder)说，由于委员会在原告签署和解协议之前就讨论了此案，州法律不要求市政府在他们退出非公开会议后在公开会议上宣布和解协议。
However, even if they are not required to, cities should announce settlements at public meetings when they are final, especially large payments, Snyder said.
不过，斯奈德说，即使没有要求，各城市也应该在最终和解时在公开会议上宣布，尤其是大额和解金。
“As a matter of policy, I think any city should publicly disclose a payment of this size, especially where as here it’s (one of) the largest ever,” Snyder said. “That’s a lot of money that might otherwise have been used to repair city streets, address the homelessness crisis, improve city services. The public is entitled to at least know about the amount and the underlying circumstances that led to such a payout.”
“作为政策问题，我认为任何城市都应该公开披露这种规模的支付，尤其是这里是有史以来最大的城市之一，”Snyder说。“这笔钱本来可以用来修复城市街道，解决无家可归者危机，改善城市服务。公众至少有权知道导致这种支付的金额和潜在情况。”
Similarly, the council discussed a separate case on Aug. 10, 2021, regarding a man shot by police, but did not announce a settlement in open session afterward. Three days later, plaintiffs signed a $3.25 million settlement agreement.
同样，该委员会在2021年8月10日讨论了另一起案件，涉及一名被警察开枪打死的男子，但没有在随后的公开会议上宣布和解。三天后，原告签署了一份325万美元的和解协议。
The Kuang settlement was included in a 320-page city staff report from June 2021 regarding the adoption of the city budget, but was not included in the actual budget.
广某的结算被包括在有关通过市预算的2021年6月开始的320页市工作人员报告中，但没有包括在实际预算中。
The lawsuit claimed negligence/personal injury, negligence/wrongful death, and dangerous condition of public property. The plaintiffs were Kuang and Zhu’s two children. It named the city, Sacramento County and Gurdeep Chand Sidhu, 22, the driver, as defendants.
该诉讼声称疏忽大意/人身伤害，疏忽大意/非正常死亡，以及公共财产处于危险状态。原告是广和朱的两个孩子。法院将该市、萨克拉门托县和22岁的司机古尔迪普·昌德·西杜(Gurdeep Chand Sidhu)列为被告。
Sidhu paid a $100,000 settlement to the family. The county was never served with the lawsuit and never paid a settlement, a county spokeswoman said.
Sidhu向这家人支付了10万美元和解费。萨县的一位女发言人说，该县从未接到诉讼，也从未支付和解费用。
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发表于 2021-10-15 09:35:41
发表于 2023-1-30 18:55:29