SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The family of a woman who was killed in Jamul last year when a boat being towed on a rural road crashed into the car she was driving filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the other car's driver.
The suit filed Thursday in San Diego Superior Court by the family of Jennifer Nichols, wife of then-interim San Diego Harbor Police Chief Kirk Nichols, alleges Robert Keith Thomas was negligent in maintaining his truck and ensuring the 26-foot boat he was towing was properly attached to a trailer prior to the deadly Feb. 5, 2022, crash.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Thomas was driving a pickup truck on state Route 94 that was pulling a trailer carrying the boat. The vessel detached from a trailer, slid across the roadway and collided with Nichols' car.
She later died at a hospital. Kirk Nichols was riding in the front passenger seat of the car during the crash and suffered minor injuries.
Thomas, 30, was later charged by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office and is scheduled for sentencing next Friday in an El Cajon courtroom on a vehicular manslaughter count stemming from the fatality.
The lawsuit alleges Thomas drove to Jamul to pick up the boat after seeing an online advertisement offering to give the boat and trailer away for free.
The suit alleges that after driving down Honey Springs Road, Thomas approached a stop sign at the intersection of state Route 94 but was unable to stop at the intersection because the truck's brakes weren't fully operational. The suit also states the boat and trailer were too heavy to be towed by the truck and all brake components had previously been removed from the trailer.
Thomas attempted to make the turn onto state Route 94, at which point the boat separated from the trailer and crashed into the Nichols' car.
The lawsuit also names the man who gave away the boat as a defendant and alleges he did not properly ensure the boat was properly secured to the trailer or take other similar precautions while knowing Thomas would be towing the boat. The suit also names the owner of the pickup truck as a defendant and alleges he did not properly maintain his truck or take reasonable steps to learn how his truck would be used on the date of the fatality.
The suit was filed on behalf of Kirk Nichols and Nichols' two sons.
