FAYETTEVILLE -- A lawsuit against the teen driver of a vehicle that fatally struck a University of Arkansas student is an attempt "to bring some kind of justice" after the outcome of a juvenile court hearing amounted to "a slap in the face," a member of the victim's family said.
Andrea Torres, an 18-year-old architecture student, died on Feb. 4, two days after she was hit while in a crosswalk attempting to cross North Garland Avenue. UA police cited the then-17-year-old driver for using a cellphone and failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
A Washington County Circuit Court judge has set a trial date of June 2020 for the lawsuit filed in July seeking unspecified damages while alleging negligence by the driver, identified in court documents as Reagan Elizabeth Garner, and also "negligent entrustment" by her mother, Dania Rayette Garner Austin, and father James Hydrick Garner.
"I don't feel that any justice was done from a criminal standpoint, so the reason I guess why myself and my family decided to pursue a civil case is because we want to be able to bring some kind of justice," said Alondra Alarcon, Torres' half sister.
Garner, who was not a UA student at the time of the collision, now attends the university. She denies allegations of negligence and also specifically denies that she was using her cellphone while driving, according to court documents responding to the lawsuit.
A police report released to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says the driver "stated she looked down, into the vehicle, for one to two seconds, to access her phone," according to the report by officer Reilly S. Thurow.
The university this fall placed an electronic sign on North Garland Avenue that displays how fast drivers are going. The four-lane street is a major entryway to the university that also runs alongside student housing.
The lawsuit claims Garner "breached her duty to exercise ordinary care for the safety of Andrea Torres and to operate her vehicle in a reasonably safe manner; said breach constituting negligence."
In court documents, the lawsuit, filed by a special administrator for Torres' estate, claims Garner broke traffic laws related to cellphone usage while driving, including Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-1504, which prohibits drivers from reading or writing texts or social media posts. The police report released to the Democrat-Gazette lists the same statute in the citation issued to the driver.
The lawsuit also claims Garner violated state laws pertaining to drivers under 18 that prohibit using a cellphone while driving and also prohibit having unrelated passengers under 18 when no one 21 or older is in the vehicle's front seat.
Garner, in court documents, denied that she violated the laws.
The lawsuit also cites a state law allowing crime victims to sue, stating that the actions of Garner "constitute Manslaughter, which is a Class C Felony," as Garner "recklessly caused the death of Andrea Torres."
Garner, in court documents, denied that the crime victims' law, Arkansas Code Annotated 16-118-107, applies to the case.
Matt Lindsay, lead counsel for the party suing Garner, said the lawsuit seeks damages of what a jury would determine to be "fair and just."
Neither Garner nor her attorneys responded to emails and phone calls seeking comment.
Alarcon said she traveled from Illinois to attend the juvenile court hearing, which she said took place in March in Fayetteville.
No public record exists for the juvenile court hearing. Before the lawsuit, the driver had not been publicly identified.
Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett in March said in an email that "no charge that was contemplated could have been filed in adult court."
He has cited a confidentiality requirement that's a part of the state's juvenile code in declining to comment further on the case.
Speaking generally, Durrett said "juveniles are considered less culpable than adults because they're not fully developed mentally," with juvenile court "more geared towards rehabilitation, under certain conditions."
Alarcon said she was allowed to speak at the March hearing.
"The main reason I wanted to speak was because I was not in agreement with the punishment that was being given," Alarcon said, stating she disagreed with the punishment issued by the judge.
Lindsay, the attorney, said Judge Stacey Zimmerman presided over the juvenile court hearing. Zimmerman declined comment, citing rules for judges related to confidentiality in juvenile cases and that prohibits comment on why they issued a ruling.
Alarcon said the result was "just a slap in the face for the family."
"It was like a slap on the wrist for [the driver]," Alarcon said. She said "it boggles my mind" that the driver now attends UA.
"I don't understand why somebody would put themselves through that, or even want to be back anywhere in the vicinity of where this tragedy happened," Alarcon said.
Alarcon said she doesn't "want her life to be ruined," but that she wishes there had been "harsher consequences." Information provided by Alarcon about the hearing outcome could not be confirmed by the Democrat-Gazette, and Alarcon declined to provide full details because "it's not worth jeopardizing anything or risking anything."
Alarcon said she wished a judge had ordered the driver to speak to others about the dangers of cellphone use while driving.
Now, she said she wants to spread that message as a way to honor her sister.
"I would definitely say, please be mindful and value your life, as well as others, because anything can happen in a matter of seconds," Alarcon said.
Torres was a graduate of Clarksville High School. Alarcon said future goals for Torres involved taking care of her mother, who is also Alarcon's mother.
"I can't even begin to express how much I miss her, and I'm sure if I'm feeling this way, my mom is feeling 100 times worse," Alarcon said.
Garner also denies a claim made in the lawsuit that there previously had been "multiple traffic violations" the same as or similar to "the illegal conduct that caused" Torres' death. Garner, in court documents, "specifically denies that she had multiple prior traffic violations as alleged herein."
A UA spokesman confirmed Garner as a student based on her full name and birth date. Lindsay, the attorney, also said it was his understanding that she now attends UA.
Photos posted to Facebook by Dania Garner Austin show her daughter Reagan as a student and sorority member at the Fayetteville campus.
"Now, she's the one getting to go to the university, being a student, getting to grow as a person, choose a career. My sister got all of that taken away from her. Now she's a student at the University of Arkansas, and my sister is no longer with us," Alarcon said.
Metro on 11/02/2019