Family of Promising Baseball Player Killed in Horrific Crash Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Last year, 16-year-old Jesse Esphorts was a rising star on his high-school baseball team. On March 7^th, he hit the game-winning home run for his team. A few hours after that run, he was killed in a three-car collision in Torrance. His father, Jesse Esphorts Sr. 47, was driving them home after dinner at his grandmother’s house.

Moments before the three-vehicle collision that claimed Jesse Jr.’s life, two vehicles were involved in a hit-and-run collision on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Darryl Hicks Jr.’s Audi A6 allegedly hit Tung Ming’s Mercedes-Benz SUV in a minor collision. According to a story in the Daily Breeze, Hicks took off after the minor crash, and Ming took off after him, dialing 911 as he pursued the fleeing vehicle. The 911 operator was talking with Ming for a full minute as he pursued Hicks at speeds off nearly 80 mph, and three times the operator asked Ming to provide the license plate number of the vehicle that he was pursuing. The 911 operator was on the phone with Ming when Hicks and Ming rounded a corner in the roadway and crashed into Jesse Sr.’s Toyota Sienna minivan which was making a legal left-hand turn into a residential neighborhood. Hicks ditched his vehicle and fled on foot. He was later apprehended and charged.

As if the situation were not already terrible enough, the intersection where the three-vehicle crash occurred was a blind curve, and it was under construction at the time of the crash. It is alleged that “the dangerous and defective condition of the roadway” contributed to the severity of the crash. The construction zone created a “chaotic traffic situation, significant risk and an undiscovered trap for motorists,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit

The lawsuit names Darryl L. Hicks, Tung Ming, the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS), the County of Los Angeles, the City of Torrance, and Shawnan, a business entity (the construction contractor on the project in the intersection at the site of the crash).

Attorneys John Taylor and Robert Clayton from Taylor & Ring are representing Jesse Jr.’s mother in a wrongful death lawsuit. They argue that 16-year old Jesse’s needless death was caused by the combination of three bad actions:

• Darryl Hicks recklessly collided with Tung Ming’s Mercedes and then fled the scene rather than stopping to exchange information.
• Tung Ming made the conscience and dangerous decision to engage in a high-speed pursuit of Darryl Hicks’ Audi through residential streets thereby endangering the lives of motorists and pedestrians.
• During the pursuit, Tung Ming used his cell phone to call 911 and inform the operator that he was engaged in a high-speed pursuit of another vehicle. Rather than instructing him to discontinue the pursuit, the 911 operator asked Ming three times to get the license plate number of the fleeing Audi. This foreseeably encouraged his reckless conduct and further endangered the public.

The final mitigating factor was the dangerous condition of the roadway. The location where the incident occurred was on a blind curb that was under construction all of which restricted visibility for the involved drivers.

Mr. Clayton told CBS News that Jesse’s family wants to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department “implement better policies and procedures and better train and supervise their employees so this type of incident won’t happen again.”

“If any one of the actors had done the right thing, Jesse Esphorts is still alive,” Mr. Clayton told CBS News. “If one of these drivers doesn’t speed recklessly through residential streets he’s alive. The dispatcher does what she’s supposed to do and tells Mr. Ming to stop, Jesse’s alive.”

At Taylor & Ring, we help families find their way forward after acts of gross negligence cause them harm. Our Los Angeles wrongful death lawyers want to help. Please call us at 310.776.6390 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation with a member of our team.