$15M Lawsuit Filed over “Roller Coaster Road”

The mother of 23-year-old Ashley Garcia, who was killed when a car crashed into a pool, is suing the county of San Diego.

Garcia died in June 2012, several days after her boyfriend, Robert Aaron Anderson, drove off the road and landed upside down in a swimming pool. Garcia was submerged underwater for approximately 10 minutes.

The accident happened on Calavo Drive in Escondido, which residents call “Roller Coaster Road” because of its steep curves.

Residents told NBC 7 that four speed bumps were recently installed on the half-mile stretch of road. But Garcia’s mom, Kara Laxson, says that’s not the answer.

“I think that just gives the joyriders a little more of a bump to drive over,” Laxson said.

This week, Laxson gave testimony in a deposition for a lawsuit she filed against the county, seeking $15 million in damages. She says the county ignored the dangerous condition of the road, and she wants the road to be flattened.

“It needs to have the thrill taken out of it so no one has to stand there and relive the horror I do,” she said.

NBC 7 has learned a California Highway Patrol officer also testified. The officer said that Anderson was actually driving below the posted speed limit. Anderson was previously thought to be driving much faster.

“When you picture it at 70 to 80 mph, you picture that the car went flying through the air and that they were being reckless and careless,” Laxson said. “But when you find out they were going less than what the speed limit is through here, it proves the road is very dangerous.”

On Thursday, Laxson, visited the accident site for the first time.

“Seeing this road, I can visualize her in that car. I can visualize her in that pool,” Laxson said. “It’s just heart-wrenching.”

Laxson now wears a heart-shaped necklace made of glass mixed with her daughter’s ashes.

“This is Ashley with me at all times,” she explained.

Laxson said she finds peace knowing her daughter’s organs went to help six people.

“Ashley being an organ donor is the only thing that keeps me going,” she said.

A spokesperson for the county had no comment on the pending lawsuit.