Family sues city of Riverside, driver for collision that killed boy

The family of an 8-year-old boy killed when the vehicle his eldest sister was driving was struck head-on at a Riverside intersection by an out-of-control motorist announced Thursday the filing of a lawsuit against the city and the driver, alleging negligence on the part of both.

Obed Liam Barbosa Carbajal of Riverside died in the May 16 collision at Arlington and Stover avenues.

His 25-year-old sister, Kially Carbajal, was driving Obed and his two siblings to school about 7:30 a.m. when their 2015 Nissan Sentra was hit by a 2020 Honda Civic driven by 22-year-old Andres Laris, according to the plaintiffs and Riverside Police Department.

“The Carbajal family lost their beloved Obed and suffered an unimaginable tragedy that has forever changed the course of their lives,” attorney Erika Contreras said. “It’s shameful that it took the death of a child for the city to implement some of the necessary safety measures that it had contemplated for years, knowing this roadway was a danger to the public.”

City spokesman Phil Pitchford declined comment on the suit, citing a standing policy of no public statements on pending litigation.

The civil action blames municipal officials, in part, for the crash because the plaintiffs allege that the city failed to move forward with a plan established in 2015 to install a traffic light and make various other roadway safety improvements at the intersection.

According to the plaintiffs, residents of the area had repeatedly complained about the need for changes. Between 2009 and 2023, there were nearly 30 collisions, including three fatal ones, in the area of Arlington and Stover, according to the lawsuit.

Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said Obed and his siblings were in Kially Carbajal’s Nissan going eastbound on Arlington when Laris approached from the opposite direction in his Honda.

Railsback said the Honda “veered into opposing lanes of traffic and collided head-on into the Nissan.”

The rate at which the Honda was traveling could not be confirmed. Arlington is a major travel corridor through the western half of the city, and the point of impact was at a bend in the road where speeding is not uncommon.

Firefighters extricated the trapped victims from the Nissan using heavy equipment.

Kially Carbajal suffered a broken arm and foot. Her 16-year-old brother Mario, seated in the front passenger seat, suffered significant head trauma that required surgery.

Their 10-year-old sister Kiara suffered a major brain injury, two broken legs and a spinal fracture, according to the plaintiffs.

There was no word on whether the children are in a physical rehabilitation program.

Laris was critically injured, as well, and hospitalized for an unspecified duration before recovering.

He has not been charged with a crime. Court records indicate that since 2020 he has had two speeding convictions, which are infractions.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damage awards related to Obed’s loss and the future economic impacts to the family stemming from the crash.

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