BEVERLY HILLS – Three children of a 65-year-old man who was fatally injured when struck by an Expo Line train at the 17th Street Station in Santa Monica in 2019 have tentatively settled their lawsuit against Metro.
The death of Ronnie Solomon occurred about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 15, 2019, according to the coroner’s office and the Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau. Solomon’s children, Deonta Tyree Solomon, Jeris Venwalas King and Esther Valery Person, brought the suit in September 2019. On Friday, their attorneys filed court papers with Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Edward B. Moreton, Jr. stating that a “conditional” settlement was reached and that a request for dismissal will be filed by Dec. 31.
No terms were divulged. Trial was scheduled May 30.
The suit alleged wrongful death, premises liability and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. Solomon, who suffered from a neurological condition known as Huntington’s Chorea, left the train and stepped onto the platform, then attempted to re-enter a car and instead fell in between two train cars, the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ court papers stated.
The train left moments later, dragging Solomon about 1,400 feet to a “gruesome death,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers stated in their court papers. Metro attorneys denied any liability on the part of the agency.
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