ST. CROIX — The daughter of a wheelchair user who died four days after hitting her head when her wheelchair fell backward during an alleged erratic taxi ride is suing the St. Thomas Taxi Association and the taxi driver for wrongful death and punitive damages, according to a Superior Court civil lawsuit.
The negligent acts of a St. Thomas taxi driver, who was identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, allegedly caused the woman’s death by failing to operate his vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner by speeding, driving erratically, and applying hard brakes.
The St. Thomas Taxi Association is vicariously liable for all the negligent acts committed by the taxi driver, who was licensed under the Association, according to the lawsuit filed May 1 by attorney John Fischer. The St. Thomas Taxi Association, the second-largest taxi service on St. Thomas established in 1987, is governed under the rules of the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission to provide passenger services.
Natividad Molina, 95, died on April 28, 2024 due to acute trauma to the head, resulting in massive left subdural hematoma, according to the lawsuit. Four days earlier on April 24, 2024, she and her family were passengers in the defendant’s taxi van. She was visiting St. Thomas aboard a cruise ship. She was sitting in her wheelchair while taking a taxi back to the cruise ship. The taxi driver allegedly began driving erratically, speeding, and braking hard so the wheelchair fell backward, causing the woman to hit her head on a metal bar that was part of the taxi van.
After Molina fell and was seriously injured, the lawsuit states that the taxi driver stopped the taxi van in the middle of the road. He then lifted Molina, placed the wheelchair upright, and put her in the wheelchair before dropping the passengers off at the cruise ship. While stopped in the road, a police officer approached the taxi driver to ask why he illegally stopped. The taxi driver told the officer that Molina was strapped, and he was proceeding to transport her and the other passengers back to the cruise ship.
Upon boarding the cruise ship, Molina’s family took her for medical care, according to the lawsuit. Molina was instructed to report immediately to the emergency room at Schneider Regional Medical Center due to the severity of her head injury and decline of her health. She was diagnosed with subdural hematoma upon admission to the hospital. She suffered conscious pain, physical injuries, and death because of the alleged negligent actions of the taxi driver.
Enith Rivera, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, is Molina’s daughter. Rafael Rivera is her son. Enith and Rafael Rivera both sustained monetary loss, mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, and other damages arising out of the death of their mother, according to the lawsuit. Enith Rivera, a resident of Puerto Rico, demands a jury trial as well as judgment against the taxi driver and the St. Thomas Taxi Association for compensatory damages, punitive damages, and any other relief the court deems just and proper.
