Several articles related to the crash:
CHP: Carmel Teens Killed In Wreck Had Smoked Pot
Some Passengers In Truck Had Also Been Drinking, Officials Say
By KSBW
January 26, 2007
Monterey, California
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BIG SUR, Calif. -- Carmel teenagers involved in a fatal wreck near Big Sur last summer had used drugs earlier in the day and alcohol was found in the truck they were riding in, the California Highway Patrol said.
Two teens were killed and three others were injured in July when the truck plunged off a cliff along Highway 1, just south of Lucia Lodge.
The CHP said the truck passengers had been drinking and the 16-year-old driver, Alexander Robbins, was violating his restricted driver's license. The truck was traveling at about 70 mph at the time of the crash, officials said.
Robbins and 17-year-old Ryan Fields were killed in the wreck. The injured teens were identified as Collin Cowsill, 17; Kevin Schneider, 15; and Dane Anderson, 17.
Robbins' license did not allow him to carry passengers under age 20 without a parent in the car, the CHP said. All of the teens had been smoking marijuana prior to the wreck, the CHP added.
Investigators said it was not clear if marijuana contributed to the crash. It was also not clear if Robbins' parents may face any criminal charges.
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Lawsuits Filed Following Fatal Big Sur Crash
Two Boys Killed In July Wreck
By KSBW
aPRIL 3, 2007
Monterey, California
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BIG SUR, Calif. -- Last summer's fatal wreck that killed two Carmel High School boys on Highway 1 south of Big Sur took a new twist this week.
Families of two of the boys involved have filed a lawsuit against the mother of the boy driving the truck that crashed.
Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits were filed on behalf of Tom Field, Deborah Cowsill, and her son, Collin.
Field's 17-year old son, Ryan, was killed, and Collin Cowsill suffered severe injuries in the July 25 crash.
The suits were filed against Elizabeth Robbins, the mother of driver Alexander Robbins. Alexander was also killed in the accident.
Five teens were returning to Carmel in a pickup truck from a surfing trip in Lucia when Robbins lost control of the truck on Highway 1. The vehicle went over a cliff.
In February, the California Highway Patrol said investigators had decided not to file any criminal charges against any of the teens' parents.
Alex Robbins had only a provisional license and was not supposed to drive teenage passengers.
The CHP also said Robbins and the other teens had been doing drugs on the day of the crash, but it wasn't clear if Robbins' mother knew her son was driving illegally.
The attorney for the plaintiffs, Andrew Swartz, said the lawsuit will soon be served upon the parties, who will then have 30 days to reply.
Following that, the court will set a hearing date.
But Swartz said mediation to settle the suits before they go to court is also a possibility. Swartz hasn't said exactly how much the families are suing for, but that they are simply asking for insurance money
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Lawsuits filed over fatal crash
Mother of driver who died in Big Sur named as defendant
By Virigina Hennessey
April 3, 2007
The Monterey Herald
Monterey, California
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Wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits were filed Monday in connection with an accident last July in which two Carmel boys were killed and three injured when the pickup they were riding in flew off Highway 1 in Big Sur and crashed in the surf below.
The lawsuits were filed on behalf of Tom Field, whose 17-year-old son, Ryan, was killed in the accident, and Deborah Cowsill and her son, Collin, 17, who was severely injured in the July 25 crash.
Named as defendant is Elizabeth Robbins, mother of Alexander Robbins, who was driving the truck and who drowned when rescuers were unable to extricate him from the wreckage.
But Monterey attorney Andrew Swartz was quick to say the lawsuit seeks nothing beyond the limits of Robbins' insurance.
"This is a terrible tragedy for all of the families involved, and the community beyond, especially the Carmel High School community," he said. "It's our hope to fairly resolve this matter with State Farm Insurance and avoid causing any additional hardship or pain to anybody."
Swartz said Ryan Field's mother, Jennifer, has opted not to join the lawsuit at this time. She has previously told The Herald she is "not blaming the accident on Alex at all."
Swartz said he does not know the intentions of the parents of the other two boys injured in the crash, Dane Anderson, 17, and Kenny Schneider, 15.
The five friends were returning from a surfing trip south of Lucia when the accident occurred. California Highway Patrol reports indicate Robbins was driving 70 mph on the dangerous road when he lost control and went over the cliff. The 16-year-old Robbins was also driving with a provisional license, issued in May, that prohibited him from driving anyone under the age of 20.
He and his mother had been to traffic court that morning on a citation for violating that law on an earlier occasion. Elizabeth Robbins told CHP investigators she knew Alexander had taken the truck later that morning, and passed him at a gate into Pebble Beach about 1:30 p.m., but he had no passengers.
While all of the boys had smoked marijuana several hours before the crash, and some had swigged from a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey after surfing, CHP reports said Robbins was not under the influence of alcohol or marijuana when he was driving home. The cause of the accident, the agency concluded, was speeding.
Survivors said they had gathered at Robbins' house about 2 p.m. before heading south for surfing. On the way down, Schneider told police, Robbins was driving at speeds approaching 100 mph and his passengers yelled at him to slow down.
After stopping at several beaches, the five ended up surfing for more than two hours at Pacific Valley Beach before heading for home. Again, the passengers said, Robbins was speeding, traveling about 70 mph when he entered the last turn, which was posted at 30 mph.
The truck fishtailed and Robbins overcorrected before the truck sailed off the roadway. The Ford F-350 rolled about 20 times before it came to a rest upside down at the surf line.
CHP reports said Cowsill's seat belt broke and he was ejected from the truck about 20 feet from the beach. He suffered a broken vertebrae in his lower back, as well as lacerations and abrasions to his face, arms and legs.
Anderson was able to climb out of the truck and pulled the unconscious Schneider free. When they were struck by a wave, Schneider regained consciousness and the two eventually climbed to the road for help.
A Canadian man, who came upon them with his girlfriend, climbed down to the wreckage to assist the two boys who remained pinned in the truck. He told CHP investigators Field was dead when he reached the truck, but Robbins was still alive.
Rescuers were unable to extricate Robbins, or tow the truck up the cliff, before the tide surged in, killing him.
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