Daniel "Danny" Bishop, a senior majoring in mathematics and psychology, was riding his scooter to class when Veronica Bilbao de la Vega fatally struck him near LeJeune Road and Altara Avenue while driving a black Cadillac Escalade on March 4, 2024. Bilbao de la Vega was cited for driving with an expired license, which expired in 2020, and failure to use due care.
As previously reported by the Real Deal, Bilbao de la Vega, a public defender in Miami-Dade County, was driving 17 miles per hour when she hit Bishop in the crosswalk. She told Coral Gables police officers that she had looked right to check for oncoming traffic and didn't see Bishop as she turned left.
In her lawsuit against Bilbao de la Vega and her husband Daniel, Bishop's mother Susan alleges that Daniel, as the owner of the vehicle, "knew or should have known" that his wife should not have been driving given her expired license. The family is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
The intersection of Le Jeune Road and Altara Avenue, where a University of Miami student was struck and killed in a March 4, 2024 crash.
UHealth BikeSafe screenshot via X
"On or about March 4, 2024, Daniel de la Vega knew or should have known, based on her driving history, that Veronica de la Vega was a careless driver who was unfit to safely and legally operate the subject vehicle on a public street and/or roadway," the lawsuit alleges.
Daniel is the son of One Sotheby's founder and CEO Mayi de la Vega. She founded the company, which has become of the leading firms for luxury real estate from Miami to Melbourne, Florida, in 2008.
The complaint asserts that Bilbao de la Vega failed to carefully and properly look out, yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk, exercise reasonable care to avoid striking pedestrians, maintain proper control of the Escalade, and operate the vehicle in a safe manner and in compliance with traffic laws. The same failures are repeated against Daniel.
"Defendant's negligent, grossly negligent and/or reckless acts, and/or omissions directly and proximately caused the death of Daniel Bishop on March 4, 2024," the suit reads.
Last month, Bilbao de la Vega avoided jail time and was sentenced to six months probation. She also must complete 500 hours of community service and pay a fine of $1,000, plus court costs.
In the aftermath of the fatal crash, two UM safety groups, BikeSafe and WalkSafe, reported that the intersection near Coral Gables Senior High School where the accident occurred has a dangerous design. The groups pointed out that vehicles can make left turns at the same time pedestrians have the signal to cross the road, calling for the roads to be redesigned. It is a commonplace design that allows drivers to turn left on a solid green light while yielding to pedestrians and oncoming traffic.
A Coral Springs native, Bishop graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland as class salutatorian. He had a job lined up to teach math at Gulliver Preparatory School following his graduation from UM.
