City of San Diego pays $1.8 million to family of biker killed in motorcycle accident

City workers at intersection of Pacific Hwy & Cedar St

The City of San Diego reached a settlement with the family of a motorcyclist who was killed in an accident at an intersection near Little Italy that has a history of collisions.

The City is paying $1.8 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit to the family of El Cajon resident Kenneth Charles Sully, 58, who died in April 2009 at the intersection of Pacific Highway and Cedar Street. Sully was riding a Ducati motorcycle northbound on Pacific Highway around 10pm when he collided with a Toyota Corolla headed in the opposite direction, driven by a 17 year old Los Angeles girl. The Toyota made a left turn on Cedar Street in front of Sully, who tried to veer out of the way but struck the rear passenger side of the vehicle. He died from traumatic head injuries.

According to the lawsuit, "This turn lane's position combined with the position of the then existing traffic signals gave drivers the confusing illusion they had the right-of-way on a green signal to turn left onto Cedar Street…The city further failed to install or maintain any signs warning southbound traffic they were required to yield to northbound Pacific Highway traffic when turning onto Cedar Street. No warnings or signals were present to safely guide traffic using this intersection with due care."

The City of San Diego failed to install a $3,000 traffic signal at the intersection for 12 years. Several attempts to fix the problem fell short through the years due to budget woes and employee incompetence. Three months after Sully's death, the city installed a left-turn signal at the intersection.

The City Council unanimously approved the $1.8 million settlement Tuesday, June 7, 2011, as civic watchdogs questioned why the city was paying anything in an accident involving two private individuals. This amount is less than the $5 million the lawsuit sought, in which it called the motorcycle collision a "foreseeable, preventable accident." The City, however, doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement.

Sully is survived by his wife, Dianne Sully, and daughter, Nicole.