College Student Sues School After She Was Hit By Car Protesting Trump

Mariana Flores was seriously injured after she was struck by a car on a busy highway in Southern California while protesting the election of Donald Trump. Now, the 19-year-old sophomore has filed a lawsuit against UC-San Diego, the UC Board of Regents, the city and county of San Diego, the driver of the vehicle and the state of California. 

According to Los Angeles Times Flores took to the streets following Donald Trump's victory speech in November of 2016. The protests started out on campus, but soon spilled onto a busy highway. While she was on the interstate, she was struck by a car and suffered a crushed her pelvis, fractured leg, and other serious injuries.

Flores, then 18, was part of a protest that started on the UCSD campus in La Jolla after Donald Trump gave his presidential victory speech in New York in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2016, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported at the time. The protest eventually moved onto the southbound 5 Freeway north of Nobel Drive, where a car struck Flores about 1:40 a.m.

Speaking to The Guardian Flores' lawyer Gene Sullivan says that she faces millions of dollars in medical bills and hopes the university will help cover some of her costs. Her lawyer says the schools holds some of the responsibility for "failing to end the demonstration" after it became dangerous and spilled onto a busy roadway. 

The protest continued all over campus for hours and was never stopped, controlled, or refrained by the County of San Diego, City of San Diego, State of California, University of California Regents or the University of California, San Diego.

He also says the school allowed protesters to enter the busy highway, and the presence of school police during the protest gave the appearance the school was providing security for the protest:

The complaint additionally claims that UCSD is liable for Flores’ injuries because it allowed the protesters to enter the freeway and failed to warn Flores that there was no one providing security for the demonstrators along the freeway even though campus police officers were present during the protests on campus and shut down the surrounding streets.

UC San Diego has not responded to the lawsuit. 

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