CITY DENIES LIABILITY CLAIMS.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - City officials denied claims that they are responsible for a collision that killed a 12-year-old Canyon Country boy, and filed a countersuit against the driver and owner of the car that struck the boy, court documents filed this week show.

Jordan Gillespie was riding his bicycle across a pedestrian crosswalk at Plum Canyon Road and Rodgers Drive when he was hit by a vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver, officials said.

The Plum Canyon Elementary sixth-grader suffered severe head injuries in the June 12, 2000, crash and died eight days later.

Jordan's parents, Paul and Valissa Gillespie, filed a lawsuit against the city two months ago, claiming city officials created a deadly trap by painting a crosswalk on the busy road, and failing to warn pedestrians of the dangers posed by the high-speed, multilane road.

The suit further claims that the city ignored repeated calls from the Gillespies and others in the community to correct the problem.

The Gillespies are also seeking unspecified damages from Angel Morelos, the man who hit their son, and Martin Hernandez, the owner of the vehicle Morelos was driving.

In a response filed by the city July 16, city officials denied any liability, claiming the collision was caused by the ``carelessness and negligence'' of Morelos and Hernandez, as well as Jordan himself.

The city also filed a countersuit against Morelos and Hernandez, alleging that their negligence and recklessness caused the collision that killed Jordan. In the suit, the city seeks reimbursement for all costs it incurs as a result of the Gillespie suit.

Morelos, 25, was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter last year, sentenced to 180 days in jail and ordered to pay $10,517 in restitution to the Gillespie family.

While the Gillespies' suit against the city seeks unspecified damages, a claim initially filed by the Canyon Country couple, and rejected by the city, sought more than $2.5 million in damages, including $1.8 million in general damages, a $100,000 donation to the nonprofit bicycle safety group Safe Moves, more than $600,000 in hospital and burial expenses, and construction of a pedestrian bridge at the intersection.

Although Jordan was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, Mark Hiepler, the Gillespies' attorney, said a helmet would not have saved Jordan's life.

``The city was on notice that there was a dangerous situation at the intersection and they failed to act,'' he said.

At the time of the collision, the city was working to place a traffic signal at the intersection; the signal was installed last October.