POLE VAULTER FATALITY SUIT AWAITS DATE; YEAR PASSES SINCE TEEN'S DEATH.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

A year ago, Heath Taylor cleared a 10-foot-6-inch vault during after-school track practice at Hart High. When the teen fell to earth, his life was cut short in an incident that remains unresolved.

A wrongful-death civil lawsuit, filed against the William S. Hart Union High School District four months ago by the 17-year-old pole vaulter's parents, is pending.

The plaintiffs and defendants have a July court date in San Fernando to meet with Judge Howard Schwab regarding their readiness for trial or their willingness to settle the matter out of court, said attorney Gary Gibeaut, whose Los Angeles firm provides legal counsel for the school district.

The complaint, filed Dec. 9, 1997, in North Valley Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages as a result of Taylor's death April 29, 1997. Gibeaut said both sides have been conducting pretrial discovery, and the plaintiffs' attorney has scheduled some depositions of Hart school district personnel during May.

Lawrence Grassini, attorney for the Taylor family, didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Taylor, a Hart High junior, landed on the back of the pole-vault pit, but then fell off the edge of the mat and slammed his head on the ground. The mat is 3-1/2 feet thick and measures 20 feet by 22 feet - exceeding the national requirement of 16 feet by 12 feet.

Although the mat was set on grass, its backside lay perpendicular to an asphalt runway. Hart's pole-vault area had runways in front of and behind the pit.

The reason for the dual runways was to allow practices and competitions to be held from either approach if conditions are windy. The landing pit could be placed at the end of either runway because each has its own hole where a vaulter can plant his pole during a jump.

Dean Crowley, commissioner of athletics for the California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section, said a few lessons were learned and safety measures implemented in the aftermath of three student-athlete deaths last spring.

In addition to Taylor, a Peninsula High School boy was hit by a discus and fatally injured, and a St. Bernard High School baseball player had a deadly collision with an opposing base runner.

Crowley said the Hart school district never furnished the CIF Southern Section, which oversees athletics at 506 Southern California high schools, with a report on Taylor's death.

``That was on the advice of legal counsel for the school district,'' the commissioner said. ``Everything regarding that case is in the hands of the school district.''

Although scattered numbers of pole vaulters wear helmets - mostly those designed for skaters and bicyclists - there has been no requirement for all vaulters to don headgear in order to compete, Crowley said. The main reason is that no sporting goods manufacturer has come out with a protective device specifically for pole vaulters, he said.

``Who's to determine what kind of helmet is really safe?'' Crowley added. ``We don't want to make it a situation where they can't see the runway.''

There have been some measures adopted, however, to make the discus throw a safer event.

Crowley said those athletes must aim for a smaller area when they release the heavy projectile. In the past, the discus could land in a 60-degree area marked on the field. That area has been narrowed to 40 degrees, he said.

CIF officials hope this new practice will cut down the likelihood of errant discuses hitting bystanders or athletes during meets or practices.

``It certainly doesn't mean we're going to let the spectators get any closer,'' Crowley said.

Another measure that has been gaining widespread use is two-way radios and cellular phones at athletic contests and practices.