Mother of boy killed by car sues county over inoperable crosswalk

The mother of a 14-year-old boy struck and killed by a car as he crossed a southeastern Las Vegas thoroughfare in April has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clark County and its public works department over an out-of-service crosswalk.

Daisy Gallo, the mother of Akadian Frankopoulos, sued the county on Sept. 4 in Clark County District Court, alleging that officials knew “of the faulty pedestrian crosswalk at this location” and “failed to inspect, maintain, and make necessary repairs to the traffic control device” under their responsibility.

Just before 8:30 p.m. on April 27, Frankopoulos was crossing north on East Tropicana Boulevard, at South Morris Street, when he was struck by a 2002 Acura MDX traveling westbound, according to police and court records. His death was ruled an accident.

Matt Hoffmann, a partner at Battle Born Injury Lawyers and an attorney representing the mother, said there had been problems with crashes involving pedestrians at the crosswalk prior to Frankopoulos’ death. So the county installed rapid-flash beacons at the crosswalk, he added, because the traditional four-bulb-light warning sign before the crosswalk had proven to be insufficient.

One of those beacons worked when activated on the night of the fatal crash, according to Hoffman, but a second beacon to guide the boy from a traffic island in the middle of the street to the sidewalk was out of order as indicated by a “not in service” sign, he said.

“They knew about it, they bagged it up, and people in the neighborhood saying it had been that way for months, that’s the problem,” Hoffman said. “I think that’s the most important thing: It was out of service and the county knew it was out of service.”

The county declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday, citing its routine practice of not publicly speaking about litigation.

The lawsuit also names as a defendant the driver of the vehicle, Crystal Helm, who was 34 years old at the time of the crash. It claims she was speeding when she struck Frankopoulos.

Helm, whom the authorities said left the scene and did not call police, has been charged with a felony for failing to stop at an accident. She is scheduled to appear in court late next month. Her attorney did not immediately respond Monday to a message seeking comment.

In addition to wrongful death, Helm and the county are accused of negligence in the lawsuit, which seeks general and special damages in excess of $15,000.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.