A woman is suing the city of Los Angeles after she said she was hit by a car while walking on a street where a homeless encampment was blocking the sidewalks, according to the L.A. Times.
The Times reported that 64-year-old Debra Todd said she was crossing Gower Street on Oct. 4, 2020, to distribute food and water to the residents of a freeway encampment. She claimed both she and a homeless man she was walking with were hit by a Nissan.
“Because of the encampment, you couldn’t walk on the sidewalk. You had to walk on the street,” she told the Times. “There was no light or stop sign anywhere at Gower where I got hit.”
Todd’s lawyer, Alan Turlington, said Todd had “a mild traumatic brain injury” from the accident and as a result, she could lose her ability to earn money.
Last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an anti-camping ordinance that prevents people from sitting, lying down or sleeping in certain types of areas in the city. Critics of the new ordinance said it is far too broad and will harm unsheltered Angelenos. The city and county are already embroiled in a lawsuit over the local government's handling of the area's homelessness crisis.
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer, told the Times, “We will review the complaint and have no further comment at this time.”
