BAY POINT — The family of a man who was killed in a car crash as he biked through town in February has sued the driver, who allegedly told police he was reaching for a water bottle on the floor of his Chevrolet when the collision happened.
The suit was filed by the wife and children of Martin Gutierrez Perez, who was killed in a Feb. 2, 2025 crash near Port Chicago Highway and Riverside Drive in Bay Point. The suit seeks unspecified damages for alleged negligence on the part of Juan Duarte, whose Chevrolet Silverado collided with Gutierrez Perez’s bicycle that day, according to police.
Duarte later told authorities that he was on the way to the grocery store, driving approximately 25 miles per hour, when he dropped a water bottle on the floorboard. He said he reached down to grab it a few moments before the impact, and called 911 from inside the car after striking Gutierrez Perez. An eyewitness in another vehicle said when she saw the bicycle emerge from underneath the Chevrolet, she ran a red light to position her car in a way that blocked Gutierrez Perez from being struck by additional vehicles, according to authorities.
The crash is being investigated as a vehicular manslaughter, but no criminal charges have yet been filed, according to court records. Duarte’s lawyer has filed a response alleging that Gutierrez Perez was under the influence at the time of the crash, and denies his family “have been or are now or will be damaged to the extent alleged or to any other extent.”