Council Settles Suit Over Freak Crash on Freeway

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $2,175,000 settlement Wednesday with the family of Roger Randall, who died after a freak pileup last year involving a city truck on the Hollywood Freeway.

It was the fourth and largest settlement of lawsuits filed by victims and their families over the March 1998 accident.

Investigators believe driver Louis C. Gysin fell asleep at the wheel of his southbound city truck as he neared Universal Center Drive.

The 4-ton truck careened across several lanes, plowed through the center divider, became airborne and passed over a car before landing on its side and slamming into Randall’s van, then coming to rest on top of a sedan. The crash closed the freeway for nearly 12 hours.

Gysin denied falling asleep at the wheel. But post-crash investigations showed no mechanical problems that might have caused the crash. Gysin pleaded not guilty to a charge of vehicular manslaughter and is awaiting trial.

Three previous settlements of lawsuits from the crash have totaled less than $100,000, said Senior Assistant City Atty. Dan Woodard. In addition to property damage, drivers suffered injuries ranging from superficial cuts to severe internal damage.

Randall, a 50-year-old county communications repairman, was the only person killed in the accident. Seven others were injured, including Carol Adkins, whose rented sedan was crushed by the city truck.

Adkins, who had been visiting Los Angeles at the time, is in a coma in Florida, Woodard said.

“It was certainly a devastating accident for all concerned,” Woodard said.

The latest lawsuit was filed by Randall’s widow, Susan, and his grandchild, Steven, Woodard said. The Randalls’ only child had died in a car crash years ago.

“We’re glad [this] lawsuit is going away peacefully,” Woodard said.

The city faces seven more lawsuits over the accident, including one by the family of Adkins, Woodard said.