Family of teen killed in crash by former Placer CEO Todd Leopold files wrongful death lawsuit

A family member of Anthony Williams, an 18-year-old Inderkum High School senior killed earlier this year in a Rocklin traffic incident that drew outrage from community advocates, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Todd Leopold, Placer County’s former chief executive who was driving the car that fatally struck him.

Williams’ brother, Isaac Tidwell, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Placer County Superior Court, his attorney Stephen Schofield confirmed to The Sacramento Bee.

Williams was walking in the left lane of traffic on southbound Lone Tree Boulevard, with the flashlight on his cellphone turned on and in an area “well-lit by street lamps,” when he was struck by Leopold’s vehicle, according to a copy of Tidwell’s complaint provided by Schofield.

Two other vehicles ahead of Leopold’s avoided striking Williams but Leopold “did not slow at all before the collision,” the lawsuit alleges, accusing him of negligence and motor vehicle negligence.

Leopold, in a written statement released two days after the Rocklin Police Department on May 11 announced it had completed its investigation and determined the driver not to be at fault, admitted he was driving the vehicle that struck Williams the evening of March 19.

Leopold’s vehicle hit Williams along Lone Tree Boulevard near the intersection of Adams Drive, close to a shopping center in Rocklin, according to the lawsuit and reports from police. The lawsuit said at least two pedestrians as well as patrons inside a nearby restaurant witnessed the collision.

Williams was seriously injured in the crash and died at a hospital.

Tidwell’s lawsuit against Leopold was first reported Thursday by Fox 40. Schofield, a Fairfield-based personal injury lawyer, confirmed to The Bee in a brief phone interview that he is representing Tidwell in the case, which did not immediately appear in Placer County Superior Court’s online case index as of Thursday afternoon.

A heavily redacted police report obtained by The Sacramento Bee showed that Leopold was driving a purple Jeep Wrangler, but included few other details on the incident.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office has said it is conducting its own review of the Police Department’s findings and will decide whether any criminal charges for Leopold are necessary.

The Board of Supervisors voted to terminate Leopold from his position as county CEO earlier this month, following an unrelated workplace harassment complaint filed by a county employee in May.

Supervisors on June 3 voted to give Leopold his 30-day notice of termination with cause. County spokesman Chris Gray-Garcia said Leopold had the option to resign during that 30-day window, and that he did so Monday.

The Board of Supervisors is now working to recruit a new county CEO, Gray-Garcia said.