The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a pair of settlements totaling more than $6.1 million for family members of a mother and daughter who were killed in 2018 when their SUV was struck head on by a YouTube star speeding the wrong way on Interstate 805.
The victims’ family members sued the city for wrongful death and negligence, alleging that San Diego police failed to do their job when they went to the family home of Trevor Heitmann, known by his online moniker “McSkillet,” the morning of the crash for a welfare check. The officers allegedly left after only speaking with Heitmann’s parents and not evaluating the 18-year-old for a possible mental-health hold.
Later in the day, Heitmann sped away from his family’s Carmel Valley home in a $250,000 McLaren sports car and entered the northbound lanes of I-805 heading south at more than 100 mph. He crashed head-on into an SUV occupied by Aileen Pizarro, 43, and her 12-year-old daughter, Aryana Pizarro. All three died instantly.
Members of the Pizarro family filed two separate lawsuits in 2019. Aileen’s father, Miguel Pizarro, and one of her sons, Dominic Pizarro, filed one of the suits. Their settlement awards them $4.25 million.
Aileen’s second son, Angelo Pizarro, and Aryana’s father, Arcelio Garcia, filed the other suit. Their settlement awards them $1,875,000.
The council voted unanimously in closed session last month to approve both settlements. They again voted unanimously Tuesday in open session to finalize the settlements, which will be paid out from the city’s public liability fund.
Heitmann’s parents, Kurt and Bita Heitmann, also sued the city. Their attorney said Wednesday that their case against the city has also settled but is not yet finalized, and he cannot yet discuss the terms of the agreement.
The deadly crash occurred in the late afternoon on Aug. 23, 2018, as Aileen and Aryana Pizarro were heading north on I-805 in the Sorrento Valley area on their way to Orange County.
According to authorities and the various lawsuits, Heitmann had entered the freeway speeding the wrong way up an exit ramp. Heitmann’s 2015 McLaren 650S — a handmade British sports car worth $250,000 or more — disintegrated in the crash, instantly killing Heitmann, according to the county medical examiner. Pizarro’s Hyundai SUV was nearly as badly damaged and burst into flames, killing the mother and daughter on impact.
The initial collision and its fiery aftermath caused several secondary crashes that injured about 10 people.
The first Pizarro family lawsuit claimed that the day before the deadly crash, a psychiatrist told San Diego police dispatchers that she had evaluated Heitmann and concluded that he was a danger to himself and others and should be detained immediately for a mental health evaluation, known as a 5150 hold.
The psychiatrist told the dispatcher that over the course of several days, Heitmann “had displayed manic symptoms and appeared paranoid, delusional, out of control and threatened to harm his mother,” according to the lawsuit.
People who followed Heitmann online — “McSkillet” had more than 900,000 YouTube subscribers — believed he became distraught after losing his ability to profit on e-sport gambling. He had made a sizable income taking bets on the potential value of “skins” for virtual guns in the video game “Counter-Strike.” But shortly before his death, the game’s developer had reportedly shut down such activity, confiscating a pricey collection of his skins and banning him from acquiring more.
According to the lawsuits, police went to the Heitmann home after the psychiatrist’s call, but spoke only to the teen’s parents. The mother told officers her son might become violent if they entered the home, and they left, according to the lawsuit.
Hours later, Heitmann sped away from the home, striking his mother’s car on his way out. He also drove to nearby Ashley Falls Elementary School, where he crashed into a metal gate before getting on the freeway the wrong way.
