By admin 
Developer and minority Sacramento Kings owner Phil Oates told a Placer County jury Friday that he never saw the motorcycle approaching before he turned his Cadillac into its path in a 2024 collision that killed a retired California Highway Patrol officer.
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Oates, 75, took the stand in a $30 million wrongful-death civil lawsuit brought by the motorcyclist’s widow, speaking publicly for the first time about the crash on a suburban Granite Bay street.
Oates had not been drinking and was not cited by police after the crash. He has acknowledged responsibility for turning left in front of Patrick Mulderrig, the retired California Highway Patrol officer riding the motorcycle. But Oates and Mulderrig’s widow, Miranda Flores, were unable to reach a financial settlement. She sued Oates for the loss of her husband and for any pain and suffering Mulderrig may have experienced before his death.
The trial, which began this week at the historic Placer County courthouse in Auburn, is being held to determine the value of Flores’ loss and whether she should also be compensated for her husband’s pain.
Oates told the jury of eight men and four women that he did not see Mulderrig coming from the opposite direction until the motorcyclist — on his way to see his nephew in the hospital — was too close for Oates to safely get out of his way.
Some of the details of the collision and its aftermath were hard to remember, Oates said in court.
“I think you’ve got to be in a little bit of a state of shock,” he said. “It was an accident, and you’re thinking of all the ramifications.”
Wearing a dark gray blazer, khaki slacks and a yellow tie, with black headphones atop his head to help him hear the proceedings, Oates described the sunny early evening in May when a trip to a local fast-food restaurant turned deadly.
Oates was heading eastbound on Douglas Boulevard in Granite Bay after a run to Carl’s Jr. and had slowed to about 10 mph before turning left into his neighborhood, the developer testified.
He saw a vehicle in the distance and counted to 10 to judge its speed before beginning the turn, Oates testified. He was already partway through the intersection when he saw Mulderrig getting close. He tried to speed up so the motorcycle wouldn’t hit the rear of his car, Oates said.
But Mulderrig’s red Harley-Davidson Sportster slammed into the rear passenger side of Oates’ Cadillac, crumpling the back corner and twisting the wheel out of shape. A California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the crash testified Friday that Mulderrig did not appear to have slowed or applied his brakes. The impact spun Oates’ SUV 180 degrees.
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The developer said he got out of his car and started toward Mulderrig, who lay about 15 feet away on the ground, when a woman guided him away from the immediate scene and took him to the side of the road.
There, Oates cooperated with police, who declined to cite him. CHP Officer Michael Zerfas wrote in his report that Oates was responsible for the crash because he turned left in front of Mulderrig, but said Oates had not been grossly negligent.
Zerfas testified Friday that Oates was not using a cellphone and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Zerfas said the intersection where Oates was trying to turn left was unmarked, without a stop sign or traffic light. It was possible, he said, that Oates’ view was partially blocked by raised landscaping.
Mulderrig’s motorcycle left no skid marks, indicating he had not attempted to slow down, Zerfas said. Oates’ Cadillac left skid marks, tracing its movements backward from the point where the vehicle was hit by the motorcycle to where it came to rest after spinning around.
Zerfas also offered testimony that might make it more difficult for Flores to prove that her husband suffered before he died.
Mulderrig, who was propelled into the air by the crash, was unconscious and in an ambulance by the time Zerfas arrived, the CHP officer testified. He did not open his eyes, speak or make any sounds, and did not regain consciousness before he died about five hours later, Zerfas said.
Also testifying Friday was Ron Vento, a retired physician who was a close friend and neighbor of Mulderrig and Flores.
Vento testified that on the day of the collision, he learned that Mulderrig’s nephew had suffered a seizure and went to his friend’s house to make sure he knew.
Mulderrig, who had been cleaning his swimming pool, immediately jumped on the Harley and headed out.
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Soon he, too, was fighting for his life, Vento said.