County, driver sued in death of 14-year-old boy in crosswalk

The mother of a 14-year-old boy struck and killed by a car as he crossed a southeastern Las Vegas thoroughfare in April is suing Clark County and its public works department over an out-of-service crosswalk.

Daisy Gallo, the mother of Akadian Frankopoulos, filed the wrongful death suit Sept. 4 in Clark County District Court. It alleges that officials knew “of the faulty pedestrian crosswalk at this location” and “failed to inspect, maintain, and make necessary repairs to the traffic control device” under their responsibility.

Just before 8:30 p.m. on April 27, Frankopoulos was crossing north on East Tropicana Boulevard at South Morris Street when he was struck by a westbound 2002 Acura MDX, according to police and court records. His death was ruled an accident.

Matt Hoffmann, a partner at Battle Born Injury Lawyers and an attorney representing the mother, said there had been problems with crashes involving pedestrians at the crosswalk prior to Frankopoulos’ death. So the county installed rapid-flash beacons at the crosswalk, he added, because the traditional four-bulb-light warning sign before the crosswalk had proved to be insufficient.

One of those beacons worked when activated on the night of the fatal crash, according to Hoffman, but a second beacon to guide the boy from a traffic island in the middle of the street to the sidewalk was out of order, as indicated by a “not in service” sign, he said.

“They knew about it. They bagged it up, and people in the neighborhood saying it had been that way for months, that’s the problem,” Hoffman said. “I think that’s the most important thing. It was out of service, and the county knew it was out of service.”

The county declined to comment on the lawsuit last week, citing its routine practice of not publicly speaking about litigation.

The lawsuit also names as a defendant the driver of the vehicle, Crystal Helm, who was 34 at the time of the crash. It claims that she was speeding when she struck Frankopoulos.

Helm, whom authorities said left the scene and did not call police, is charged with felony failure to stop at an accident. She is scheduled to appear in court late next month.

In addition to wrongful death, Helm and the county are accused of negligence in the lawsuit, which seeks general and special damages in excess of $15,000.