Oakland's Road Safety Crisis: $512K Pothole Settlement

0:00Oakland's roads are costing the city a fortune in lawsuits. Just last week, the City Council greenlit a $512,000 settlement to cyclist Andrew Marshall Boussel, who crashed into a pothole on East 21st Street near 26th Avenue back on October 17th, 2023. He ended up with broken bones, lacerations, and nerve damage in his face and hands. This marks the second major road-related payout this year. In March, Oakland forked over $400,000 to Robert Solomon after his pothole crash on Grizzly Peak Boulevard last year. Marshall Boussel's a long-time special education teacher at Oakland Schools and was recently chair of the department at Oakland High. He's also got political ties, managing a mayoral campaign in 2022. Folks who've won these suits often say they trade the money for their old health and no more pain. Over the past decade, the city's dropped nearly $50 million on settlements like these, mostly for cyclists and sidewalk falls.

1:02One of the biggest was $6.5 million in 2024 to a rider who snapped his spine and suffered a brain injury on MacArthur Boulevard. The council approved it without emitting fault, but these non-stop payouts signal Oakland's got to prioritize road repairs to cut the injuries and the bills flowing from them. You've been listening to California News today, AI-powered local news.