COUNCIL VOTE ENDS LAWSUITS; CITY, FIRMS WILL PAY FOR '95 BUS CRASH.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to pay $3.53 million of an $8.2 million settlement for lawsuits by the families of two children who were killed and 34 children injured when the hydraulic arm on a city trash truck hit a school bus.

The manufacturers of the truck and the trash-compacting system that used the hydraulic arm will pay the remaining $4.66 million of the settlement, officials said.

``This action addresses a horrible tragedy for which the families of the victims can never be adequately compensated,'' said Councilman Mike Feuer.

Councilman Nate Holden said the City Attorney's Office warned that the city could have faced a much higher judgment if the lawsuits had gone to trial, because officials had advance knowledge that something was wrong with the trash truck but did not keep the vehicle off the road.

``It was unfortunate that the accident ever occurred,'' Holden said.

The crash occurred Dec. 6, 1995, when the hydraulic arm inside the compactor of a trash truck pushed through the outer wall of the vehicle and raked the windows of a school bus at the corner of Temple and Alvarado streets. At the time, the bus was carrying 45 elementary school students.

Brian Serrano, 8, and Francisco Mata, 10, were killed in the accident. Mario Garay, 10, was seriously injured, and 33 other children suffered emotional distress and minor injuries, according to some of the 18 lawsuits filed after the accident.

The California Highway Patrol investigation concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the failure of truck driver Kenneth Fox to perform a pre-trip inspection to make sure his vehicle was safe, according to a report to the council by the City Attorney's Office.

Fox testified in a deposition that he did inspect the truck.

The investigation also found that maintenance supervisor David Wear neglected to take the truck out of service after he was informed the night before the accident that the truck's arm was broken, the City Attorney's Office report said.

Paul Kiesel, an attorney representing the Mata family and others, said the parents are relieved that the matter has been settled and that the city has taken steps to correct its problems.

``The loss of a child is the most profound loss a couple can suffer,'' Kiesel said. ``By resolving this case, personally they feel they are able to close an open wound.''

In addition to lawsuits by the children, bus driver Humberto Ojeda sued, alleging he sustained a back injury and emotional distress, and a driver of a car in front of the bus, Jesse Rodriguez, sued, saying he suffered a back injury and emotional distress when he had to duck onto the seat of his car as the hydraulic arm passed above his car.

The lawsuits also named Inland White GMC, which sold the truck to the city, and Amrep Inc., which made the body of the truck, including the compaction system.

Under the terms of the settlement, the families of the two boys who were killed will each receive $2.5 million, Garay will receive $1.275 million, bus driver Ojeda will receive $400,000, motorist Rodriguez will receive $25,000 and the 33 other children will share in $1.5 million.