The family of the Twentynine Palms man whose car was hit by a Sheriff’s deputy, killing the driver, is going to mediation with the Sheriff’s Department. On April 30, 2013, Luc Van Bui, 64, was pulling out of the parking lot by the Twentynine Palms Stater Brothers onto Highway 62 about 7:30 p.m. when his car was hit by Deputy Erdem Gorgolu, who was driving eastbound in a patrol car on the highway. Bui’s family allege in their lawsuit against the City of Twentynine Palms, the county, the deputy, and the Sheriff’s Department, that the deputy was driving his marked patrol car “at speeds far in excess of the lawful speed limit … with no head lights, no running lights, no emergency lights, no signals nor any other lights of the vehicle being turned on, all in hours of total darkness.” Bui’s family told the court that they will be meeting in private mediation November 6. The plaintiffs and defendants are expected to return to court in December with the results of the mediation.
