On 13 June 2001, Gayheart struck 9-year-old Jorge Cruz
Jr. as he jaywalked across the street. According to the police report,
the boy was walking home from school, and crossed the street about 160
feet from the nearest crosswalk. While several cars stopped to let him
go, Gayheart allegedly swerved around the traffic and into a two-way
left-turn lane, striking the boy; he died the next day at Los Angeles
Children's Hospital. His parents, Jorge Cruz and Silvia Martinez, filed
a wrongful-death lawsuit on 6 August 2001 against her. Gayheart paid
for Cruz's hospital and funeral expenses.
