CRASH DEATH PROMPTS LAWSUIT; FAMILY CITES FAULTS IN TRUCK, COMPANY.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

The family of a Moorpark man killed when his pickup truck was crushed by a larger truck on the Conejo Grade in February has filed a wrongful death suit against the driver and the Camarillo rental company that owned the truck.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Ventura County Superior Court, contends that the truck, owned by U-Rent Inc., had shoddy brakes and a smooth tire. The suit claims the company knew the driver, James Greene of Simi Valley, wasn't licensed to use trucks with air brakes.

Further, the lawsuit contends that the company, owned by Robert and June Arbon of Camarillo, had Greene haul a 30,000-pound bulldozer on the Presidents Day holiday knowing the California Highway Patrol inspection station at the top of the grade would be closed and neither the driver nor the truck would face a check.

``This is an accident that did not have to occur,'' said Paul Stansen, one of the attorneys for the surviving family of Ismael Chaidez. ``The Ford F-150 truck (driven by Chaidez) was no match for the 80,000-pound U-Rent Inc. tractor-trailer.''

Phone calls to the Arbon home were not returned. Greene could not be reached for comment.

CHP investigators have recommended that Ventura County prosecutors file vehicular manslaughter charges. The crash report faulted maintenance of brakes on the truck and stated that Greene coasted on the steep section of the Ventura Freeway before striking the rear of Chaidez's pickup.

Greene has a Class A driver's license issued in California. He was restricted from driving trucks with air brakes because he only completed a written test and not a driving test for such trucks, according to the CHP.

Deputy District Attorney John Cardoza said the charge being considered is misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter because the incident might have involved negligence. But he said no charges have been filed.

``We're still investigating the case,'' Cardoza said. ``This is a homicide case. It's like any other serious case, you need to do the appropriate investigation and research.''

Stansen said he has reviewed the CHP report, which covers more than 50 pages, and contended there is overwhelming evidence to support criminal charges against the defendants in the civil lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends that the rental company's owners acted in an effort to save money and increase profits by failing to properly maintain the truck, employing a driver not licensed to drive that truck, and operating a heavily loaded truck that couldn't stop on the grade.

CHP officials said Greene tried to slow the rig by weaving between the shoulder and the slow lane of traffic and even ran the truck along the guardrail. The truck rammed into the back of the pickup as Chaidez was exiting onto the Camarillo Spring Road off-ramp, forcing the pickup into a hillside.

Victoria Chaidez said her husband, 45, was driving to one of his house-cleaning jobs. The former GTE technical sales support employee started the business two years earlier.

Chaidez is survived by a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, as well as his parents and mother-in-law.