Family of judge killed in Phoenix crash suing Grubhub for wrongful death
Dec 7, 2023, 4:35 AM
(Photo courtesy of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County)
PHOENIX — The family of Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Rosa Mroz is suing Grubhub for wrongful death after she was struck by a car while crossing a Phoenix street last year.
Mroz was crossing the street in the area of 56th Street and Camelback Road on Feb. 2, 2022 around 9:15 a.m. when a black Hyundai struck her, police said.
The driver of the car remained on scene at the time. Mroz was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and died on Feb. 5.
According to the lawsuit, the Hyundai driver was allegedly looking at his phone and trying to complete a Grubhub order when he hit Mroz and killed her in the crosswalk. Mroz was following traffic laws when she attempted to cross the street, according to police.
“Unfortunately, distracted driving happens every day and many think they won’t be the one to crash,” attorney David Shapiro said, whose law firm is representing Mroz’s family. “It only takes seconds of looking away from the road to greatly alter the future of a life and the lives of their loved ones.”
Mroz spent 18 years on the bench and was the first Asian American woman to be appointed as a judge in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The case was filed in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona. The family is represented by the Shapiro Law Team with co-counsel from Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP.
“Distracted driving among food delivery app drivers is an increasing problem that continues to threaten the lives and safety of all drivers and pedestrians in the path to their destination,” Robert Glassman, trial attorney and partner at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, said. “Judge Mroz was an incredible wife, mother and daughter and a pioneering public servant whose death has impacted all who knew and loved her.”
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2009 to 2016, pedestrian crash deaths rose 51 percent with Arizona ranking seventh out of the states in terms of the pedestrian death rate and pedestrian danger index.