PG&E, Family Seek Settlement 2 Years After Fatal Crash

Attorneys for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. are negotiating Thursday with the family of a woman who died in a 2009 Novato crash as the  parties seek an out-of-court settlement stemming from the high-profile distracted driving case.

A PG&E employee in a BMW made an unsafe lane change on the southbound Rowland Boulevard onramp to Highway 101 on Dec. 18, 2009, causing another vehicle to roll over and crash, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

A passenger in the wrecked SUV, 86-year-old Frances Colton Torney of Petaluma, died about two weeks later of her injuries. The driver, 23-year-old Celeste Torney Hoffman, granddaughter of the woman who died, suffered scalp and brain injuries.

The PG&E employee, lobbyist William Clint Stock of Mill Valley, faced manslaughter and felony hit-and-run charges following a four-month review of the incident by the Marin County District Attorney’s office, according to a report the . In March 2011, Stock pleaded guilty to hit-and-run after Judge Paul Haakenson reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, then started a 29-day sentence plus 200 hours of community service.

Stock, who was PG&E’s director of regulatory affairs, no longer works for the utility, according to spokeswoman Katie Romans.

Anthony Label, a Novato native and the attorney for the Torney family, said Stock was using his cell phone on work-related business without a hands-free device three times between 12:02 p.m. and 12:09 p.m. — from time he left to the time of crash.

“They were work-related calls,” Label said. “He was on a call at time he should have been making a safe lane change.”

Stock initially claimed he hung up seconds before the collision but later admitted he was "in the course and scope of his employment" when the crash took place, Label said.

“California law says that companies are responsible when their employees injure  people while they are doing things in the company’s business interest,” Label said. “If he were sales person making sales calls, there would be no question the company would be responsible. But PG&E believes it is not responsible when its lobbyist is making call on its behalf. … We hope PG&E will take responsibility for the catastrophe this employee caused while furthering PG&E’s business interests.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the estate of Frances Colton Torney, daughter Anne Torney, son David Torney and granddaughter Celeste Torney Hoffman. Stock, his wife Dawn Ellen Stock and PG&E are listed as defendants.

According to documents filed with the San Francisco County Superior Court, the plaintiffs’ request for admissions included that PG&E and Stock admit they were both negligent and caused injury. PG&E, stating that its investigation into the incident hasn’t been completed, denied those admission requests.

PG&E admitted that Stock was a PG&E employee, had possession of a company-issue cell phone and was using his phone on company business at about the time of the accident. The company denied Stock was receiving business calls or sending/reading texts or e-mails during the 10-minute timeframe just before and after the accident took place. It does say Stock made two calls to PG&E employees, one at 12:04 p.m. and one at 12:08 p.m., both before the crash was reported.

“That’s contrary to Stock’s admission,” Label said.

According to the CHP report, Stock was stopped just north of the crash and arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run. Label said subsequent witness interviews reveal that Stock pulled over after the crash while talking on his cell phone, looked into the Torney’s SUV, then got back into his BMW and drove off.

Label said an employee of a pool service who witnessed the incident followed Stock off at the South Novato Boulevard/Highway 37 exit and yelled at him to return to the crash site. Stock yelled back at the witness that he was just circling back around to the crash scene, Label said.

Stock got back off at Rowland Boulevard and headed back onto the southbound highway onramp, which by then was halted by traffic because of the accident. The witness caught up with a CHP officer and pointed out Stock, Label said. The officer checked Stock's phone and confirmed it was in use within the time frame of the crash.

The PG&E spokeswoman said she could not discuss details of the case. “Currently the parties are trying to resolve this in mediation,” Romans said. “PG&E is making a good-faith attempt to resolve the parties’ claim, but settlement discussions are ongoing.”

PG&E filed a motion claiming that distracted driving should not be subject to punitive damages. That claim is to be heard in court on Oct. 14. If a settlement is not reached Sept. 8, a trial is set to begin in November, Label said.

“We find it shocking that PG&E would contest that distracted driving, with all the laws in place and all their company policies in place, should not be the subject of exemplary damages in the state of California."