Father of Eagan boy, 13, struck and killed on bicycle denied legal claim in Dakota County

The father of a 13-year-old bicyclist killed on his way to Dakota Hills Middle School in 2019 cannot proceed with a negligence lawsuit against the county, schools and city of Eagan, the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Brian Vitek, the father of Patric Vitek, sued Eagan, Dakota County and Independent School District 196, which includes Rosemount, Apple Valley and Eagan, for failing to set a lower school zone speed limit on Diffley Road.

The crash occurred about 7:20 a.m. in November 2019 on the 1000 block of Diffley Road when a vehicle struck the boy's rear tire. He was taken to Regions Hospital but did not survive his injuries.

Diffley, a four-lane minor arterial roadway, is owned and managed by Dakota County with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour. The road did not have a lower speed limit during school hours even though Eagan residents had expressed safety concerns since 1985, according to the ruling.

Dakota County District Judge Cynthia McCollum allowed the lawsuit to proceed, but the appellate court overruled her. The family could ask the state Supreme Court to hear the case, but court is not required to take it.

Writing for the panel that included Judges Louise Dovre Bjorkman and Peter Reyes, Judge Kevin Ross noted more than once the tragedy of the accident.

"Our decision rests only on the law," Ross wrote. "The outcome therefore is not and cannot be influenced by what is certainly the most important aspect of this case, which is the sad and tragic loss of young Patric to his family."

But the judges noted that Patric was struck by a vehicle driven by a third party not affiliated with the county, city or schools. The defendants have no duty to prevent harm from other parties with the exception of when their behavior constitutes misfeasance, not just nonfeasance.

The law defines misfeasance as "active misconduct working positive injury to others," while nonfeasance is "passive inaction or a failure to take steps to protect others from harm," the court said.

The ruling noted that the county could have set a lower school district speed limit, but the city and the district lacked the ability to do so on their own.

"Although county officials may bear a general duty to protect pedestrians from harm crossing dangerous intersections, that duty does not define what, if any, measures ought to be taken on Diffley Road; those measures must instead be guided by professional judgment and expertise as matters of discretion," the ruling said.

Given that the county acted within its discretion and without malice, it is entitled to immunity from liability for the accident, the court said.

Amid public outcry, a lower school zone speed limit went into place a month after the crash.

An attorney for the Viteks did not immediately return a call seeking comment.