Confidential

Facts

On Sept. 4, 1999, the decedent was a right front seat passenger in an automobile owned and operated by the defendant. The defendant was operating her vehicle eastbound on Trabuco Road in the number 1 lane at an unknown speed. While approaching the intersection with Marguerite Parkway, the defendant claimed that the decedent reached over and grabbed the steering wheel with her left hand. The defendant tried to break the decedent's hold on the steering wheel but was unsuccessful and the vehicle collided into a raised concrete median and to a tree, causing severe injuries to all occupants and fatal injuries to the claimant. The plaintiffs were the decedent's adult children.