State v. Rodriguez

This case involves the State’s immunity in a wrongful death case. In 1990, Juan Garcia Rodriguez was killed when his tractor-trailer rig hit a bridge abutment along the side of a detour on U.S. Highway 77 in Corpus Christi. The detour directed traffic onto a frontage road to avoid a large excavation on U.S. 77. After following the detour for about one mile, Rodriguez failed to complete a ninety-degree turn in the detour. Instead, at the turn, he drove onto the detour shoulder and side-swiped the bridge abutment, causing his rig to roll-over. Rodriguez’s widow and children sued the State of…