The parents of a 7-year-old boy who tragically lost his life on his way to his second-grade school on August 8 have filed a $100 million-dollar wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the driver responsible for the crash and the company that employed him, despite his history of accidents.
Andrea Ariza-Rozo and Ferley Ariza, the parents of the young victim, Juan Pablo Ariza-Rozo, filed their lawsuit in September in Harris County, Texas. They are also seeking compensation for the “serious injuries” sustained by their other child, A.A., and Andrea Ariza-Rozo herself during the accident.
According to the lawsuit, Andrea Ariza-Rozo was driving her sons to school on I-69 when the driver, Juan Napoles, Jr., allegedly lost control of his vehicle, struck a guardrail, and sent his company’s truck airborne. The truck ended up landing directly on top of the family’s car, resulting in a devastating and fatal collision.
Juan Pablo, who was seated in the back of the car in a booster seat at the time of the crash, succumbed to his injuries two days later.
The heart-wrenching lawsuit includes a poignant photograph of an empty school form that Juan Pablo never had the chance to fill out, which read: “This is me on the first day of school” and “This is how I write my name.”
The lawsuit maintains that the sole contributing factor to the collision, according to investigators, was Napoles’ failure to stay in a single lane.
However, the family’s attorneys argue that Napoles is not solely to blame. They assert that “The Hussmann Defendants” should have been aware of Napoles’ poor driving record, which included seven previous accidents since 2016, with this crash being the eighth. The lawsuit details a 2018 incident where Napoles admitted to driving while tired and briefly closing his eyes while behind the wheel.
The legal action also points fingers at Napoles’ employer for hiring him in the first place. The lawsuit states that “The Hussmann Defendants had the duty to conduct a pre-employment investigation into Defendant Juan Napoles, Jr.’s background and properly train Defendant Juan Napoles, Jr. prior to hiring him as a driver.” The suit alleges that they failed to carry out this duty both regarding prior employment and previous driving history.
Brant Stogner, an attorney involved in the case, referred to Napoles as “a ticking time bomb on the roadways with us, our friends, and our children,” in comments made to local ABC affiliate KTRK.
The family remembers Juan Pablo as an enthusiastic young boy with diverse interests, including collecting Pokemon cards, playing soccer, and aspiring to be an architect when he grew up. The tragic loss has left a void in their lives, and they hope this lawsuit will hold those responsible accountable for their son’s untimely death.
