LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The widow and daughter of a man killed in Garden Grove after the car he was driving was struck by a truck whose two occupants were fleeing police after stealing catalytic converters have dropped their lawsuit against the estates of both men.
Stefanie Clugston, the widow of 39-year-old Michael Clugston of Anaheim, and her daughter brought the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit in November 2021 against the estates of Sal Tony Fernandez and Joseph Mendoza, as well as Michael Zwa Tun, identified in the complaint as the owner of the 2019 Dodge Ram that struck the victim's car.
The plaintiffs dropped the part of the case against Tun last June and on Monday filed court papers with Judge Michael Whitaker taking the same action regarding the estates of Fernandez and Mendoza, who were also killed in the crash. Both actions were done "with prejudice," meaning they can't be revived. Trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
The court papers do not state whether the plaintiffs reached a settlement with the former defendants or if they are not pursuing the case against them for other reasons. In court papers, Tun's attorney denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client.
The collision occurred at about 2:15 a.m. on March 12, 2021, near the intersection of South Euclid Street and Orangewood Avenue. Garden Grove police said they saw the truck driving at high speed through a parking lot near Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, so officers tried to stop it as the driver continued west on Chapman.
The truck eventually crashed into Clugston's car, causing it to overturn, police said. The pickup truck then sheared a hydrant and crashed through a wall before landing in a swimming pool.
Fernandez and Mendoza died at the scene and Clugston died later at a hospital, police said.
According to the suit, Fernandez and Mendoza had been stealing catalytic converters from cars parked nearby prior to the chase. Tun negligently entrusted the truck to the two men, the suit stated.
Stefanie Clugston said previously that her husband was on his way to work when the collision occurred. He usually had Fridays off, but was working overtime because she lost her job the previous week, she said.
"I don't know how to go on without him," she said. "You were my rock. I'm glad we got some time together, I just wish it would have been longer."
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