Burkot

BACKGROUND

On November 1, 2017, at approximately 9:10 p.m., plaintiff was crossing Montrose Avenue where it intersects Mira Vista Avenue and Rincon Avenue in a marked, ladder-type crosswalk when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Haemin Soonsang Chang (Chang), traveling westbound on Montrose Avenue. Plaintiff was approximately halfway across the marked crosswalk when he heard Chang’s vehicle approaching. He stopped in-line with the center left turn lane to allow the vehicle to pass by. Montrose Avenue is a four-lane, two-way street that runs east- west. There are two lanes of traffic in each direction divided by a painted double yellow median that provides left turn lanes at intersections. There is an uphill grade of approximately 5.9 percent for westbound motorists on Montrose Avenue approaching the Mira Vista/Rincon intersection. On the night of the accident, Chang was traveling in this uphill direction in the No. 1 lane of westbound Montrose Avenue at a speed at or below the 35-mile-per-hour (mph) limit. Chang was generally familiar with the area and knew there was a crosswalk at that location on Montrose Avenue. Chang did not see anything in the crosswalk until his vehicle…