Car vs. farm machinery crash likely going to trial

It's a common local event: A giant piece of farm equipment lumbers down a two-lane road at slow speed, often with parts sticking into the oncoming lane.

Usually, the vehicle makes its way to the next field without incident, turns off the road and becomes just another part of Kings County's agricultural landscape.

But sometimes bad things happen. Nov. 12, 2007 was such a day.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Lemoore resident Vicki Miguel and her vehicle slammed at about 60 mph into a tomato cultivator that was moving slowly eastbound on Grangeville Boulevard near 22nd Avenue.

Miguel, who sustained what CHP spokesman Jerry Pierce called moderate injuries, sued and hired prominent local attorney Bob Dowd to press a claim that SS Farms and two of its employees -- one in the tractor pulling the cultivator and another in the pilot pickup out front -- were negligent in the crash.

The civil case, which is set for an Oct. 6 jury trial in Kings County Superior Court, highlights the problems that can result when farm machinery mixes with passenger cars.

Everybody agrees that there is nothing inherently illegal about a tractor or cultivator on a local roadway.

According to the California Vehicle Code, farmers have the right to pull tractors, harvesters and the like onto roads and even highways in the normal course of farming operations.

To push the point, a group of Westside farmers pulled cotton pickers, tractors and other farm equipment onto Interstate 5 near Huron on June 15 to protest a lack of water supplies.

Behind the long column, a truck driver was seriously injured when his big rig barreled into the back of another big rig that had slowed to 15 mph.

Farmers who participated said that an escort vehicle in the rear had flashing lights and a wide load sign. No citations were issued, according to Officer Jimmy Beeson of the California Highway Patrol's Coalinga office.

That June 15 protest highlights another fact that nobody disputes: While farmers have the right to utilize public roadways, their equipment must carry the necessary signs and be clearly visible.

Whether the tractor/cultivator combo met that requirement as it traveled east on Grangeville Boulevard in the waning light of Nov. 12 is at the heart of the Miguel case.

According to Dowd, a piece of the cultivator was sticking out into the westbound lane. Furthermore, he claims that it couldn't be seen and that it should have had lights and/or a reflector on it.

Mary Diepenbrock, the attorney representing SS Farms and its two employees, disputes virtually every aspect of Dowd's account.

The wide point of the tractor had a red flag and the cultivator was illuminated by lights atop the tractor, she said.

And, she said, a pickup escort with flashing lights was in front of the cultivator.

The whole thing was seen by Lemoore resident Jennifer Boudinot, who was driving a vehicle westbound behind Miguel's Lexus when the accident happened.

Boudinot is named in court documents as a witness.

Boudinot said a piece of debris from the crash flew back and damaged the driver's side rear-view mirror on her vehicle.

Boudinot slowed down and was otherwise not involved in the accident.

Boudinot said that she remembers the pickup truck in front with flashing emergency lights as well as lights on the tractor.

Boudinot said she drives that stretch of Grangeville Boulevard often because her husband works at Lemoore Naval Air Station. She said she see lots of farm equipment on that section.

"On that road, if you're not paying attention, it's kind of dangerous," she said.

Claudia Mota, a CHP officer involved in the accident report who is also listed as a witness in court documents, didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

According to Pierce, who reviewed the CHP report, Miguel is listed as the "party at fault." But Pierce added that it doesn't automatically rule out other factors that might have contributed to the accident.

If no settlement is reached and the case goes to trial, it could last up to three weeks, according to Diepenbrock.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(Sept. 11, 2009)