The family of a boy who was struck and killed while riding a bicycle in an alleyway of Pacific Beach has retained a lawyer and is exploring the possibility that other people or factors may have contributed to the death of their six-year-old son.
Andre Bollinger told NBC 7 he is representing the family in a potential civil matter separate from the ongoing criminal investigation against Tiffany Sanchez, 32, who pleaded not guilty Tuesday to hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter in the death of 6-year-old Hudson O’Loughlin on Jan. 17.
“We are looking into all sorts of things regarding this roadway, regarding who was there, regarding who was at fault, and that obviously has a lot to do with Ms. Sanchez … but there are other issues,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger would not confirm the possibility of a future case against the city of San Diego but said his firm is investigating a number of factors, which includes city property. The firm believes the alleyway where the fatality occurred, and the surrounding roadway, are unsafe, leading to numerous other accidents in the past.
“This is an unpaved alleyway. It’s not particularly well-maintained from the look of it. It kicks up dust, rocks and people use it to try to circumvent the light right ahead of there,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger said the firm also believes Sanchez was not the owner of the vehicle she was driving when she turned into an alley near Ingraham Street and Pacific Beach Drive on a Saturday afternoon.
Hudson was crossing the alley on a bike with his parents nearby at the time he was struck. Prosecutors in the criminal case allege Sanchez paused for a few seconds, then accelerated southbound through the alley, running the boy over in the process. The boy was transported to a hospital, where he died.
The suspected vehicle was later found in National City, and Sanchez was taken into custody.
Sanchez was initially arrested on suspicion solely of hit-and-run and was released from custody on $50,000 bail, but prosecutors added a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter. With the additional charge, Superior Court Judge Steven Stone granted a request from the prosecution to increase bail to $150,000 and remanded Sanchez into custody.
Bollinger told reporters the O’Loughlin family is “devastated,” but said they were glad the criminal process has begun.
“We’re heartened to see that the District Attorney’s Office has brought a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter against Ms. Sanchez,” the attorney said.
An online family fundraiser describes Hudson as a bright and curious child who attended school in North Park, loved science, and whose contagious energy and spirit lit every room, adding that he had a passion for BMX, cycling, swimming, and building with Legos, and that he brought so much joy, kindness, and wonder to everyone he met. Hudson was a first-grader at McKinley Elementary School in North Park.
Some nearby residents say the area near Ingraham and Pacific Beach Drive are high-capacity roads and urged the city to add precautions to protect pedestrians and cyclists.
“They just need to have more stop signs, lights, warning signs, flashing lights, I mean anything that we could do,” Courtney Rogers said.
According to Circulate San Diego, a nonprofit organization that helps local governments to improve traffic flow and safety on streets across the county, 146 people have been killed in traffic accidents on the streets of San Diego in the past two years.
If Sanchez makes bail, she is prohibited from driving and will have to be monitored by GPS.
According to McWilliams, Sanchez was not driving with a valid license at the time of the fatality, as her driver’s license has been suspended since 2017.
Along with the felony counts of manslaughter and hit-and-run, Sanchez is charged with an infraction for driving without a license. She faces up to six years in state prison if convicted of all counts.
