On Feb. 28, 2019, plaintiffs’ decedent Eliab Villareal, 23, was driving on the westbound side of Interstate 80, in Emeryville. His siblings, plaintiff Aaron Villareal, 17, and plaintiffs’ decedents Eva Villareal, 20, and Sara Villareal, 22, were passengers in his sport utility vehicle. Just before the Bay Bridge toll plaza, Eliab Villareal lost control of his vehicle due to the tries’ traction on the wet roadway, causing the tires to rotate in a clockwise direction. The SUV left the far left, number one, lane and slide across lanes number two and three. The vehicle entered the asphalt shoulder, where the vehicle’s left side collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer that Jonathan Hopkins Muse had parked on the shoulder. Eliab Villareal, Eva Villareal and Sara Villareal all died from sustained in the crash. Aaron Villareal sustained but survived. The siblings’ mother, Yanira Villareal, acting as Aaron Villareal’s guardian ad litem and as the representative of the estates of Eliab Villareal, Eva Villareal and Sara Villareal, sued Muse’s employer, Rogue Transportation, LLC. The lawsuit was later amended to add Muse as a defendant and to make Dan Villareal, a surviving brother, the guardian of Aaron Villareal. The Villareal family alleged that Muse was negligent in the operation of the tractor-trailer and that Rogue Transportation was liable for Muse’s actions while in the course and scope of his employment. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Muse’s tractor-trailer was parked illegally on the shoulder of the freeway in violation of California Vehicle Code § 21718, which is in regard to unlawful stopping, parking or leaving a vehicle standing upon a freeway. Counsel maintained that the only exception to when a tractor-trailer can be parked on the shoulder is if there is an emergency, but that, instead, Muse pulled onto the shoulder to sleep, which did not constitute an emergency. As a result, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that no one would have died or been seriously injured if it had not been for Muse illegally parking the tractor-trailer on the side of the road. Defense counsel noted that the investigating officer with the California Highway Patrol determined that Eliab Villareal was at fault for the collision and that the officer found Eliab Villareal in violation of California Vehicle Code § 22350, which is in regard to traveling at an unsafe speed for conditions, and California Vehicle Code § 24002(a), which is in regard to operating a vehicle in an unsafe condition. Defense counsel asserted that the collision was due to Eliab Villareal’s unsafe speed and due to Eliab Villareal operating a vehicle with three of its four tires past their recommended life span., Eliab Villareal, Eva Villareal and Sara Villareal each sustained traumatic and died at the accident scene on Feb. 28, 2019.Eliab Villareal was 23 years old at the time of his death; Sara Villareal was 22; and Eva Villareal was 20. They were survived by their mother, Yanira Villareal; and their brothers, Aaron Villareal, who was also in the vehicle, and Dan Villareal, who was not involved in the incident. The siblings were headed to the hospital to visit their ailing father, who later passed away from unrelated causes. Yanira Villareal sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of three of her children. Aaron Villareal sustained a lacerated spleen, a left T1 transverse process fracture and rib fractures in the crash. He also sustained a right condylar fracture, a left mandibular ramus fracture, a hip fracture, and a left femur fracture. He was taken by an emergency ambulance service to Highland Hospital, in Oakland, and he ultimately underwent a laparotomy and a splenectomy. In addition, he underwent surgical repairs of several fractures, including closed reduction and intramedullary nail fixation of the left subtrochanteric femur fracture, closed reduction of the right mandibular subcondylar fracture, and open reduction and internal fixation of the left mandibular body fracture. In addition, he underwent a scalp avulsion repair. Aaron Villareal claimed that he suffers from anxiety and stress as a result of the accident.