On March 27, 2015, plaintiff Camilo Rodriguez, 54, and his longtime friend, plaintiff Julio Herrera, 41, a carpenter, worked together on some yard work at Rodriguez’s home and then loaded the yard waste into the back of a CRS trailer that was attached to Rodriguez’s Toyota Tacoma. To get rid of the yard waste, Rodriguez took an often used and familiar route by way of Blue Diamond Drive, which is off southbound Interstate 15, which is also known as Mojave Freeway or Barstow Freeway, in Apple Valley. However, when they were on their way to a local dump, Rodriguez and Herrera realized that they had not covered the yard waste and faced a monetary penalty if they did not do so. Wanting to avoid the penalty, Rodriguez pulled off to the side of Blue Diamond Drive, under a tunnel, and then he and Herrera exited the truck to put the tarp over the trailer. While Rodriguez and Herrera were finishing putting on the tarp, their truck was approached by a yellow, Caterpillar 773B rock truck, which was carrying a load of rock and was traveling on westbound Blue Diamond Drive. The rock truck was being operated by Neal Stoller, who was acting in the course and scope of his employment with Owl Rock Products. As Stoller approached the stopped vehicle, the rock truck began to speed down a decline heading toward the tunnel where Rodriguez and Herrera were parked. A moment later, approximately 10 minutes after Rodriguez and Herrera had stopped, the rock truck violently struck Rodriguez’s trailer pushing it and the truck forward. The trailer subsequently struck Herrera, who was standing between the truck and the trailer, and the Toyota Tacoma struck Rodriguez, throwing him approximately 20 feet, where he violently hit the ground. Rodriguez sustained to his head, chest, neck, back and hip. Herrera sustained to his shoulders, neck and back. Rodriguez and Herrera sued Stoller and Stroller’s employer, the operator of Owl Rock Products, Cutting Edge Aggregates Inc. Rodriguez and Herrera alleged that Stoller was negligent in the operation of the rock truck and that Cutting Edge Aggregates was vicariously liable for Stoller’s actions while he was in the course and scope of his employment. Rodriguez and Herrera contended that while they were working, another truck going through the tunnel on Blue Diamond Driver easily passed them. Defense counsel asserted that Rodriguez and Herrera were at fault for the collision, in that they were illegally parked on a private property, had stopped their vehicle in an unlit tunnel without turning on any of their vehicle’s lights, and had negligently exited their vehicle in a place of danger. Similarly, counsel asserted that Rodriguez and Herrera were negligent for failing to put out cones or anything else to warn others about a vehicle stopped in a lane of access in a dark, enclosed space. Furthermore, defense counsel asserted that, given the size and power of the approaching rock truck, and the slow speed in which it was approaching, Rodriguez and/or Herrera should have heard the truck coming and got out of the way., Police and ambulance arrived on the scene, and both Rodriguez and Herrera were taken from the scene by ambulance and brought to a hospital. Rodriguez suffered to his head, blunt force trauma to his chest, and bilateral hip trochanteric bursitis. He also suffered a 4 to 5 millimeter posterior cervical disc protrusion and extrusion at the C6-7 level, a 2 to 3 millimeter posterior lumbar disc bulge at the L3-4 level, and a 3 millimeter posterior lumbar disc bulge at the L4-5 level. After undergoing conservative treatment, which included physical therapy and epidural injections, Rodriguez underwent a laminectomy in August 2015 and a cervical fusion in November 2015. Rodriguez claimed that his pain has improved after undergoing surgery, but that he continues to have physical limitations. Herrera suffered to both shoulders, resulting in rotator cuff syndrome. He also suffered a 2 millimeter cervical disc protrusion; a 2 to 3 millimeter far right, posterolateral, lumbar disc protrusion at the L4-5 level; and a posterior lumbar disc bulge at the L5-S1 level. Herrera subsequently underwent conservative care, which included physical therapy, platelet-rich plasma injections and epidural injections. Herrera claimed that he still has minor complaints of pain in his neck and back, but that he has been able to return to work.