Three More Suits Filed Against Rausch

The parents of a Newport Beach teen who died last year in a car crash filed a lawsuit Monday against the driver, Jason A. Rausch, alleging that he caused the death of their son, Donald C. Bridgman.

Also filing lawsuits against Rausch in Orange County Superior Court on Monday were William Watson and Kevy L. McNeill, who were among the 10 passengers in the car when it crashed. According to court documents, Watson and McNeill both suffered such serious injuries in the accident that they are unable to work.

All three lawsuits seek unspecified damages.

Neither Vicky and Bruce Bridgman nor their lawyer, Darren Aitken, could be reached for comment.

James J. Di Cesare, the lawyer for Watson and McNeill, also could not be reached for comment.

Rausch, 19, was driving Bridgman’s Chevy Blazer on May 23, 1997, on a curvy stretch of Irvine Avenue when he lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. He was the designated driver and had not been drinking, but the question of his culpability divided the community and longtime friends at Newport Harbor High School, where the teens went to school.

Rausch was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and sentenced last week to three years of probation, a $1,000 fine and 250 hours of community service.

The three lawsuits filed Monday also name as defendants the city of Newport Beach and California Landscape Maintenance Inc. of Irvine, the company that maintains the median landscaping on Irvine Avenue. The suits allege that the street was improperly designed and that it was even more dangerous because it was wet the night of the crash from irrigation sprinklers.

The Watson and McNeill lawsuits also name the estate of Donald Bridgman as a co-defendant because the vehicle that crashed belonged to him.

The lawsuits follow claims filed Friday by the families of Amanda Arthur and Danny Townsend, also passengers in the car and seriously injured.