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Inset: Peter Pellegrin. Background: The crash scene after 74-year-old Peter Pellegrin was struck and killed by an Instacart driver who was allegedly “distracted” by the grocery delivery app (Spooner Staggs Trial Lawyers).
An Oregon man, aged 74, tragically lost his life while riding his Vespa scooter when an Instacart driver, allegedly distracted by her cellphone and the delivery app, struck him. A jury recently awarded the man’s estate $16 million in damages, holding Instacart accountable after a five-day trial.
The driver, Melina Torres, was reportedly unfamiliar with the area and relied on her cellphone for navigation while attempting a delivery. As she made a left turn at an intersection, she collided with Peter Pellegrin, a resident of Multnomah County, who was traveling through the intersection from the opposite direction, according to the legal complaint filed by his estate.
This fatal incident occurred in Portland’s Arnold Creek neighborhood on February 7, 2024, around 1:45 p.m., as per police reports. Pellegrin’s estate, which includes his wife, pursued legal action against both Torres and Instacart.
The complaint details that Torres was traveling westbound on SW Boones Ferry Road, intending to turn left onto SW 19th Avenue, while Pellegrin was heading eastbound on the same road, aiming to proceed straight through the intersection. The intersection was regulated by a traffic signal with a flashing yellow warning light, advising caution to drivers.
The complaint further describes the severe injuries Pellegrin suffered due to the negligence of the defendants. These injuries included multiple fractures in both legs, the right arm and fingers, several vertebrae, the right hip, scapula, and ribs, as well as multiple pelvic fractures and internal injuries affecting his heart, lungs, and spleen.
Pellegrin survived 25 days in a trauma intensive care unit “in a shattered body” while being “intubated and on dialysis,” according to his estate. He underwent “multiple, complex surgeries” to set fractures he had from the crash, including installing “internal plates and external fixation bars” to prevent further damage while undergoing additional surgeries.
“The extent of his injuries made pain control difficult,” the complaint said. “He was often demonstratively in agony and during periods of high lucidity, he displayed mental anguish over his condition. Ultimately, he died as a result of his injuries on March 2, 2024, while still being hospitalized.”
Pellegrin’s estate, which was represented by Spooner Staggs Trial Lawyers, alleged that the motor vehicle collision, his resulting injuries, and death were ultimately caused by the defendants’ “negligence while engaged in a joint enterprise for income/profit.”
The complaint concluded that Torres was negligent “in driving while distracted” and “focusing her attention on information from her cellphone in order to make the delivery to the customer” whose identity and address were being provided by Instacart through its app. A Multnomah County jury agreed, finding that Torres’ negligence caused “injury and damage” to Pellegrin’s estate.
The jury ruled that Maplebear, Inc. — the official legal name for Instacart — had “the right to control” Torres’ actions and the specific conduct that caused Pellegrin’s death. Jurors awarded $1.9 million in economic damages and $14 million in noneconomic damages.
“The jury decided that Instacart was vicariously liable for the acts of Melina Torres,” Ralph Spooner, an attorney for Pellegrin’s estate, told Law&Crime on Wednesday. He said that after the crash, Instacart tried placing blame solely on Torres.
“Instacart’s response was, ‘Not our problem. These people are independent contractors. … They’re their own boss. We can’t control how they drive,’” Spooner explained. “With the privilege of doing business in Oregon comes the responsibility to pay for losses that your business causes,” he said. “And their business plan was to avoid all responsibility, and then rely on these so-called independent contractor agreements.”
Spooner noted how Instacart deploys a “delivery window” and time restraints on when groceries need to be delivered, which often causes drivers to constantly check their phones and work faster.
“The reality is, they track these drivers by GPS,” Spooner told Law&Crime. “So they do retain control, even though they try to say, ‘No we don’t.’ And that’s what the trial was about.”
Describing the overall goal of the Pellegrin estate and his wife filing the lawsuit, Spooner said she wanted the public to see how companies like Instacart refuse to take responsibility for the actions of their contractors.
“She was like, ‘You know, my husband’s gone. I lost him, I miss him terribly. But if I can make the world a better place by getting this out in the open, I’ll do it,’” Spooner explained. “Instacart in one quarter does $3.4 billion, but if they kill your loved one or badly injure you, they don’t want to pay 10 cents, and that’s the position they took in court. ‘We have zero responsibility.’”
Spooner described Pellegrin as a “college educated” Oregonian and “renaissance man” who was once a park ranger at Yosemite and learned how to restore historic boats, along with having an engineering background and experience in water remediation.
“Just an amazing person,” Spooner said.
Instacart did not respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment on Wednesday.