Motorcyclist struck by Palm Springs trolley sues city, driver
A motorcyclist who was struck and seriously injured by a Buzz trolley in Palm Springs earlier this year is suing the city, the currently discontinued trolley service and the trolley driver.
The suit filed Tuesday on behalf of Jose Ulysses Rangel-Rodriguez alleges that at around 10:40 p.m. March 29, trolley driver Paul Joseph Miller made an illegal left turn from Farrell Drive onto East Ramon Road, striking the plaintiff’s 2004 Suzuki GSXR500.
Miller “saw Rangel’s motorcycle directly in front of him, stopped, then recklessly began to make an illegal left turn, causing Rangel to collide with the trolley,” according to the complaint filed in Palm Springs court by attorney Jonathan M. Kashani.
City officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the suit, which alleges that Rangel had the right-of-way, “with a green light in his favor” as he approached the intersection.
The crash caused “severe and permanent injuries” to the plaintiff, including “ a skull and neck fracture, four broken ribs, a broke scapula, fractured clavicle, injury to his left knee and left wrist, and a ruptured spleen,” the complaint says.
A Palm Springs police statement issued on the day of the crash stated that the motorcyclist was hospitalized, but the trolley’s operator and sole occupant was uninjured.
The trolley service was discontinued in June at the direction of the city council, which cited excessive costs in its vote taken about a month prior to the crash.
However, the Buzz is slated return in the fall, after the city reached an agreement last month with SunLine Transit Agency to revive the trolleys, with year-round service anticipated to run from noon to 10 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays through June 2020.
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