The car must know something

On March 16, attorneys for the City of San Diego filed a petition with the court to obtain data from 47-year-old David Hoban's vehicle computer system.

Hoban’s SUV struck seven-month old Juniper Aavang and her father John, who were crossing Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma at 6:25 a.m. on March 2.

The city is seeking the vehicle data — which could indicate the speed and braking pressure at the time of impact— in anticipation that a wrongful death lawsuit could be filed by the girl's family. Reportedly, residents have long considered to accident site to be a dangerous intersection.

The city fears the computer data may be erased if action is not taken, due to the fact that oftentimes data stored in on-vehicle computers is deleted after a certain number of ignition cycles. If erased, the city may be in a difficult legal position to defend a lawsuit.

"The subject matter of the expected action is a negligence action against the driver of the 2004 Chevrolet Suburban for the wrongful death of the infant and for the personal injury to the father; a dangerous condition of public property action against [the city] for wrongful death of the infant and personal injury of the father; and a possible indemnity action between the driver and [city]…. This information is relevant to a determination of the Mr. Hoban's speed prior to and at the time of the collision, if he braked prior to impact, as well as the cause or causes of the subject vehicle/pedestrian accident and a reconstruction of the collision."

One day after the accident, residents created an online petition asking that the city make major changes to the stretch of Catalina Boulevard where Cañon Street begins.

"For decades, this intersection has plagued the residential and family-oriented nearby Point Loma community," reads the online petition that had 1421 signatures at the time of this writing. "Residents have pleaded with City and local authorities to remedy the situation, yet their concerns have remain unheard."

The petition asks that the city close Cañon Street, from Catalina to Talbot Street, to traffic in order to avoid what the petition calls are "preventable tragedies.”

"The unused section of Cañon Street would be converted into green space. A space that will become a small memorial community park, where all San Diego families can once again enjoy a safe corner of the Point Loma community. Juniper's relatives were born and raised in Point Loma, they still live in our community. This tragedy could have befallen any of our local families. Please keep our community safe and support making the intersection of Catalina Boulevard and Cañon Street an extension of Southernwood Way, thereby making it usable to residents-only."