Family of man killed in accident sues truck driver, his employer

DADE CITY -- The family of a man killed in an October traffic crash in Land O'Lakes has sued the driver of the other vehicle.

According to court records, Karen Gonzalez, the wife of Daniel M. Gonzalez of Land O'Lakes, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against truck driver Mario Velasquez, 38, of Tampa, the company that employs him and its owner.

Daniel Gonzalez was 54 when he was killed in the U.S. 41 collision, near the entrance to the Pasco County jail the morning of Oct. 2. According to reports of the crash at the time, Velasquez was driving north at about 9:30 a.m. when traffic started to slow for a vehicle up ahead.

When Velasquez slowed and turned to avoid the other vehicle, his truck struck the driver's side door of Daniel Gonzalez's southbound pickup truck. The pickup flipped, and Gonzalez was thrown from the vehicle.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers cited Velasquez for driving left of the center line.

In a lawsuit filed by Tampa attorney Harry M. Hobbs on behalf of Karen Gonzalez and Daniel Gonzalez's three children -- Danielle Marie, 5, and Stefanie Ann and Michael Tyson, both 24 -- the family seeks unspecified damages above the $15,000 minimum required to file a lawsuit in Circuit Court.

The suit names Velasquez, owner of the truck Dario Genovevo Benitez, and two companies tied to the truck, Lou-Anna Trucking Corp. and Furben Transport Inc.

Directory assistance does not list telephone numbers for either company.

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