A man hit by an A Line train in 2023 is suing the Regional Transportation District for negligence, according to court records.
Paul Aguilar was using a wheelchair to cross the A Line tracks at Aurora’s Peoria Station when he was hit by the RTD train, a crash the lawsuit attributed to the train operator’s “reckless, careless and negligent operation” and the “dangerous condition of the Peoria station.”
Aguilar was waiting at the pedestrian crossing gates when he saw lights advising that a train was leaving the station, according to the lawsuit.
He watched a westbound train pull out of Peoria Station, opened the unlocked pedestrian gates and started to cross, unaware that another eastbound RTD train was pulling in.
The lawsuit alleges that the sign warning pedestrians of the approaching train was blocked by another sign placed directly in front of it.
It also notes the sounds and alarms accompanying an incoming train are the same ones used when a train is pulling out, making it impossible to tell the difference.
Aguilar was hospitalized for more than three weeks after being hit by the train, which “unreasonably failed to stop,” according to the lawsuit. He fractured his hip, clavicle, neck, back and both of his legs.
Safety issues named in the lawsuit include:
The lack of locking mechanisms on the pedestrian gate
The lack of sounds or alarms to distinguish between a train arriving and departing
The lack of visible, unobscured signage
And a failure to adequately staff and maintain the station
RTD and Denver Transit Partners, both named as defendants in the lawsuit, failed to take “reasonable care” to keep the station safe and were aware of other people who had been injured or killed, the document stated.
The lawsuit did not specify how many other victims had been injured at the station and RTD officials could not immediately provide that information.
RTD doesn’t comment on pending legal matters, the agency’s Public Relations Manager Tina Jaquez said in an email.
Denver Transit Partners did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Aguilar, represented by Adam Detsky of personal injury law firm Ramos Law, filed the lawsuit in Denver County District Court last week. A review hearing is scheduled for July 28.
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