One Sotheby’s International Realty President Daniel de la Vega and his wife, Veronica Bilbao de la Vega, were sued by the family of Daniel Bishop, the University of Miami student killed in a crash last year.
Bilbao de la Vega was driving her husband’s Cadillac Escalade near Coral Gables Senior High School nearly a year ago when she made a left turn and struck and killed Bishop, court filings show. Bishop was in the crosswalk on his electric scooter.
Bishop’s estate, led by his parents, Susan and Jason Bishop, filed a wrongful death complaint against the de la Vegas on Friday, alleging negligence by Bilbao de la Vega and negligent entrustment by her husband.
Bilbao de la Vega was charged with failure to use due care, a traffic violation, and a second degree misdemeanor of driving with an expired license, court filings show. She pleaded no contest to the charges. She was sentenced to probation in January, when a Miami-Dade judge ordered her to pay the maximum fine of $1,000, plus court costs, and serve 500 hours of community service.
Attorney Robert Boyers, who is representing the Bishop family, said in a statement that the parents “intend to ask a jury for a very substantial sum of money to fully, fairly, and justly compensate” the family for their loss.
The de la Vegas have not been served yet as of Monday afternoon, said their attorney, Fred Fein of Clyde & Co.
“The de la Vegas and I maintain the position that neither Veronica nor Daniel were negligent in any way and are not liable for this tragic accident,” Fein said.
The state found no evidence that she was distracted when the accident occurred.
Bishop was a 22-year-old senior at the University of Miami who had survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Bilbao de la Vega was driving 17 miles per hour on the morning of Monday, March 4, 2024 when she struck Bishop.
Days after the crash, she renewed her license, which expired years earlier, filings show.
Boyers said last month that criminal law fell short in “adequately [punishing] people for negligent conduct, even when it results in horrific consequences.” Bilbao de la Vega is a public defender. Daniel de la Vega leads Miami-based One Sotheby’s, a top luxury brokerage in South Florida. De la Vega and his mother, CEO Mayi de la Vega, co-founded the company in 2008.
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Daniel de la Vega’s wife sentenced to probation in crash that killed UM student