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Grant family sues SLO County, Arroyo Grande, others

September 26, 2019

Jordan and James Grant

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The parents of the Cal Poly student who was killed in a crash at a deadly Highway 101 intersection in Arroyo Grande filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against several government agencies, as well as the other driver involved in the crash.

On Oct. 7, Jordan Grant, 18, was riding his motorcycle southbound on Highway 101 near El Campo Road. A man living in the Falcon Ridge Estates on the west side of Highway 101, Richard Giuli, attempted to make a left turn onto the highway, pulled out in front of Grant’s motorcycle, killing the Cal Poly student.

Giuli recently pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, which allowed him to avoid jail time.

The lawsuit, filed by James and Rebecca Grant, Jordan Grant’s parents, names SLO County, the city of Arroyo Grande, the state of California, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) and Giuli as defendents.

The suit alleges the Highway 101 intersection lacked safety measures, including proper signage to reduce speed or warn drivers about the danger. And even though there was a history of crashes, authorities allowed the conditions at the intersection to remain unfixed.

James and Rebecca Grant are asking for an unspecified amount of damages.

Following the fatal crash, the Grants lobbied local officials and Caltrans to stop allowing left hand turns across four lanes of the highway while they look for a permanent solution to the danger that the intersection posed.

In April, the SLOCOG board voted in favor of, as a short-term fix, not allowing left turns onto and off of Highway 101 at El Campo Road. Additionally, the SLOCOG board voted in favor of the same restrictions for three other Highway 101 intersections between Traffic Way in Arroyo Grande and Los Berros Road in Nipomo.


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There must be no greater loss than losing a child, and I feel for the Grants- but, they need to stop. How fast was their son going? Was he completely exempt of any fault? I read they were also suing the driver he hit. It was an accident! They don’t even live here. They don’t have any stake in this area except the fact that this is where they lost their child.


6

There is no doubt the loss of a child is a horrific tragedy and I give my most sincere condolences to these parents.

That being said when did accidents stop being accidents? Certainly accidents happen; when it comes to motorcycles they seem to happen more frequently.

There is no sane person who gets behind the wheel of a car setting out to kill an innocent motorcycle rider. It was an accident, this man who hit the boy has paid a high price for an accident and so has the Grant family.

There are dangerous roads, intersections, blind spots and drunk drivers everywhere, if you don’t want to take a risk stay huddled up in your houses afraid.

Taxpayers are not accountable for your loss, we will be holding the bag for your payout, not the government. No financial settlement will bring your son back, why not not just let the grieving process take place and let go of your anger. It was an accident.


17

So you’re riding your motorcycle, someone pulls out in front of you, you hit their car, and somehow it is the state and county’s fault


20

Considering the track record of that location, the traffic study results and the county’s negligence and knowledge of that location somebody’s ass needs to be held accountable. So yeah, why not?


-9

I am so very very sorry for the Grant family for the loss of Jordan.


6

What about the left turn on north bound 101 at the foot of Cuesta Grade. There is no signage indicating or requiring reduced speed. There are 3 lanes of south bound traffic coming down the grade to cross, not to mention that the left turn lane is not well marked and easy to miss.


15