Sacramento pays $1.5 million settlement to woman hit by city vehicle in midtown
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The city of Sacramento has paid a $1.58 million settlement to a woman whose vehicle was hit by a city employee in 2018.
Former Department of Public Works employee Ocean Van Tran was driving a city vehicle in midtown and ran a red light, the 2019 lawsuit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court alleges.
Chenelle Thomas was stopped at the intersection of 16th and Q streets on Oct. 29, 2018, the lawsuit states. When the light turned green, Thomas proceeded through the intersection, and was struck by Tran, who had run the red light coming the opposite direction.
The collision caused “significant injuries,” the lawsuit states.
City spokesman Tim Swanson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tran, a former assistant civil engineer for the Public Works Department, has not been a city employee since at least 2022, according to city employee roster The Sacramento Bee obtained through a California Public Records Act request.
The city signed the $1,585,000 settlement last month and posted it to its website earlier this month. To increase transparency, the city in 2021 started posting all settlement agreements online at Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s request following a Bee report.
