Lake County to pay $600K to family of woman killed in crash with deputy

The family of a Lake County vineyard worker who was killed in a ?2013 head-on crash with a sheriff’s deputy has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $600,000, their lawyer said Friday.

Gabriela Rivas Garcia, 26, of Clearlake was killed on Highway 29 near Lower Lake when Deputy James Scott Lewis slammed into her Honda Civic with a Chevy Tahoe. He was rushing to the scene of a home-invasion robbery.

Lake County supervisors approved the settlement last week, said the family’s lawyer, Jeremy Fietz.

The family sought $10 million in a county claim but took less, in part because of the uncertainty of receiving a jury award. The county did not admit liability with the settlement.

Fietz also said the fact that ?Garcia was an undocumented worker could have worked against the family.

“The jury could have easily said, ‘What a tragedy for both sides,’?” Fietz said. “The deputy lost control of his car while he was trying to serve the people of Lake County.”

County counsel Anita Grant did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

Lewis, who suffered major injuries, later was indicted on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter. Investigators said he attempted to pass another car on a shoulderless blind curve.

He was not accused of being impaired by alcohol as alleged in the family’s lawsuit. Toxicology testing showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 percent, which is half the legal limit.

His trial is set for August. Four home-invasion robbery suspects were charged in Garcia’s death.

The crash happened early in the morning on Oct. 3, 2013, as Garcia was driving to work. The deputy crossed the center line on the winding stretch of highway, killing Garcia instantly.

She left behind a fiance and dependent family members. Her lawyer said she had been sending up to a third of her income to her mother in Mexico for six years.

Fietz said the majority of the settlement will go directly to the impoverished family.

“I know for certain it will make a huge difference in their lives,” Fietz said. “It is a bittersweet irony that that is why she came here in the first place. Through her death, she accomplished what she came to do.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.