Mary Ann Bathe v. United States of America

I. BACKGROUND

1 A. Factual Background 2 This case arises from a fatal motor vehicle accident at Fort Hunter Liggett (“the Fort”) in 3 Monterey County, California. A Humvee driven by two U.S. Army soldiers collided with an off- 4 road utility vehicle driven by Douglas Bathe, a Fort contractor employed by XOTech. Mr. Bathe 5 died. Below, the Court recounts the events leading up to the fatal accident. 6 The accident took place on June 16, 2017. Specialist (“SPC”) Devin Hicks was driving a 7 Humvee on Fort Hunter Liggett Road (“Liggett Road”) within the Fort. See Hicks Dep. at 17:20– 8 25; 58:24–59:12, ECF No. 51-1. Sergeant (“SGT”) Patrick S. Wahrer was Hicks’s passenger and 9 assistant driver. See id. at 68:7–19, ECF No. 68-1. SPC Hicks drove southbound toward his 10 intended destination of Checkpoint Charlie. See Wahrer Dep. at 41:24–42:16, 86:23–87:19, ECF 11 No. 51-1. About 0.5 miles before Checkpoint Charlie, SPC Hicks encountered a John Deere M- 12 Gator (“Gator”) also driving on Liggett Road. Gators are off-road utility vehicles designed for 13 military use. Lovett Dep. at 60:23, ECF No. 51-1. Mr. Bathe was driving the Gator at five to 10 14 miles per hour. See Wahrer Dep.…