Family of 1 man killed on I-74 pedestrian walkway files lawsuit against City of Bettendorf, I-74 bridge designer

ROCK ISLAND CO., Ill. and BETTENDORF, Iowa (KWQC) - The family of one of the men who was killed in a pedestrian walkway crash on the I-74 Bridge has filed a lawsuit against the City of Bettendorf and the I-74 bridge designer, WHKS & Co., Inc.

The crash that happened in May 2022 killed Ethan Gonzalez, 21, and Anthony Castaneda, 18, who were walking on the pedestrian walkway of the I-74 Bridge, along with survivor, Charles Bowen, 22,.

At the time of the incident, the three had been struck by a vehicle, being driven by Chhabria A. Harris, 46, of East Moline.

The family of Gonzalez has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Bettendorf and WHKS & Co., Inc., the new I-74 bridge designer, in the U.S. District Court, Rock Island, according to the suit. The complaint filed on May 18 includes two counts each of negligence and willful and wanton, gross negligence.

The family is seeking damages in the excess of $75,000, according to the suit.

The suit says that the city failed to:

• Design a pedestrian walkway that included bollards and, or other barriers to prevent motor vehicle traffic from utilizing the pedestrian walkway
• Design a pedestrian walkway that included sufficient safety control systems and warnings to motorists so as to prevent motor vehicle traffic from utilizing the pedestrian walkway
• Construct bollards and, or other barriers to prevent motor vehicle traffic from traveling and proceeding on the aforesaid pedestrian walkway
• Properly warn motor vehicle operators that the pedestrian walkway was in fact solely for the use of pedestrians or bicyclists
• Properly inspect the pedestrian walkway for adequate installation of safety control devices
• Design the roadway in such a way as to disallow motor vehicles the ability to drive or enter the pedestrian walkway
• Was otherwise negligent

The suit says that WHKS failed to:

• Design a pedestrian walkway that included bollards and, or barriers to prevent motor vehicle traffic from utilizing the pedestrian walkway
• Design a pedestrian walkway that included sufficient safety control systems to prevent motor vehicle traffic from utilizing the pedestrian walkway
• Design the roadway in such a way as to disallow motor vehicles the ability to drive to the entrance of the pedestrian walkway
• Was otherwise negligent

The survivor of the crash, Charles Bowen, filed a similar suit recently. Neither the city or WHKS have filed a response to either suit.

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