The family of a man killed in a Norwalk hit-and-run crash is preparing to file a lawsuit against all parties related in the crash.
The incident occurred in October 2014 on Woodward Avenue in Norwalk.
The victim, Osmin Bonilla, was pinned between a truck and a liquor store. Two other people were also treated for injuries. The driver of the truck, Hugo Cruz-Gregorio, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
In court documents, police say Cruz-Gregorio admitted that he didn't know how to drive and was on his way to buy beer when the crash happened.
The victim's lawsuit partly blames the truck's owner, developer Stanley Seligson, the man behind Norwalk's new Waypointe development. It says Seligson routinely allowed an unlicensed construction worker to take the truck home. On the night of the crash, the suit says the worker gave the keys to Cruz-Gregorio, who was drunk and admitted to police he didn't know how to drive.
"This truck is almost like a loaded gun. You get somebody who doesn't know how to drive, that has an alcohol problem, after hours in a truck, this presents a real big danger," says the victim's attorney Michael Skiber.
In a statement Wednesday, Seligson Properties said, "The driver in the incident, Mr. Hugo Ottoniel Cruz-Gregorio has never been employed by our company. The subject vehicle was stolen by Mr. Cruz-Gregorio and/or his accomplices from the location where it was stored without our knowledge and without our permission."
Officials say the lawsuit could be filed as early as Thursday.
Cruz-Gregorio is scheduled to be sentenced for manslaughter next week.