A fatal bike accident in an allegedly congested traffic lane brought San Luis Obispo County, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and two South County cities into a lawsuit filed by the deceased's family.

• File Photo
• FAMILY CHARGE The family of James Baeker—a bicyclist who suffered a fatal accident in a construction zone on eastbound Grand Avenue—sued SLO County, Caltrans, Arroyo Grande, and Grover Beach for allegedly neglecting to place proper signage and safety measures around exposed holes, uneven pavement, and wet cement on the roadway.

Last September, county resident James Baeker was biking on eastbound Grand Avenue—the borders of Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande—when the end of a designated bicycle lane at Elm Street forced him to join vehicular travel lanes. A construction zone on that section of Grand Avenue squeezed two eastbound traffic lanes into one "with no prior warnings," according to the March 22 complaint filed by Baeker's wife, Diane Baeker, and his daughters, Lara Baeker and Jennifer Vernallis.

"There were also insufficient warnings, barricades, personnel, and/or protections to prevent members of the public, like Mr. Baeker, from encountering exposed holes, uneven pavement, and wet cement in the roadway," it read.

Baeker's bicycle front tire allegedly sunk into an unguarded section of wet cement, causing him to flip and sustain a head injury and other serious wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

The Baeker family's lawsuit holds the county, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Caltrans responsible for wrongful death, negligence, and survivor damages. It alleged that Baeker's death resulted in a loss of financial support and left the family with funeral and burial expenses.

"Plaintiffs have sustained noneconomic damages in the form of lost love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, training, and guidance in an amount to be determined by the jury at the time of trial but in excess of the jurisdictional limits of this court," the complaint said.

Arroyo Grande City Attorney Isaac Rosen told New Times that the city can't comment on active litigation. Grover Beach attorney Robert Lomeli said that the firm of Adamski, Moroski, Madden, Cumberland & Green LLP represents the city in the Baeker litigation. Representative attorney Joshua George didn't respond to New Times by press time.

"Based on our preliminary analysis of the location of this accident, we believe the accident did not occur within the jurisdiction of the county and thus we believe the county is not an appropriate defendant," SLO County Counsel Rita Neal said.

Judge Tana Coates will preside over the case management conference on July 22. Δ