SAN ANTONIO – Two related and inseparable families are mourning together over the loss of 8-year-old Santiago Martinez and his aunt 46-year-old Rebecca Sedillo and considering a lawsuit over their deaths.
“My clients say Ms. Sedillo and Santiago had stepped down from the trailer and that they were proceeding to the concession area exactly at the moment when the Ford Mustang lost control,” said attorney Andrew Toscano.
Santiago was pinned against the trailer and died at the scene. Sedillo was rushed to the hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries but died on Wednesday.
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Toscano and another lawyer involved in the case, Shawn Brown, have not filed a lawsuit yet as they continue to investigate.
“I sent an open records request to the police department for any reports or any photographs, etc. I was contacted by the clerk of the City of Kerrville and asked to withdraw my request at this point because they did not have any documentation that they could share with me since they were still continuing to investigate,” Toscano said.
Kerrville police have not filed any charges so far in the case and told KSAT on Tuesday there was no criminal component to their investigation at that point.
“We’ve sent out notices of representation to multiple parties, including the City of Kerrville and obviously Mr. Dunagan, the event organizer from Flyin’ Diesel. I think it’s important for the press to know that he reached out on multiple occasions and expressed his sympathy to the families,” Toscano said.
“I’m sure he never, ever intended that something horrible like this happen, but that’s not a legal excuse to negligently supervise and invite people to your location and put them in such circumstances that we refer to as a zone of danger that resulted in the losses,” he said.
He mentioned, as other attendees did earlier in the week, that there were no barriers at the finish line of the race, which was where the car lost control and crashed into the crowd.
Possible defendants in the case include Flyin’ DIesel, the City of Kerrville, Kerr County, the insurance company, event sponsors/vendors, the driver of Mustang, and possibly the owner of the Mustang.
“There are issues of governmental immunity with regards to the city of Kerrville and the county of Kerr,” Toscano said.
That is why he and Brown are taking their time, but hoping to file in the next week or so.
When asked about liability waivers, other event attendees told KSAT they signed before entering the event but Toscano said he doesn’t believe his clients signed them.
“And in the event there is a potentiality that there was waivers, there are multiple issues regarding waivers, especially with regards to children in the state of Texas,” he said.
The attorneys intend to file in Bexar County, saying that is where the family is from and where their businesses are located.