EL CAJON - The employer of a man who authorities say is an illegal immigrant with prior drunken-driving convictions has agreed to pay almost $450,000 to resolve a lawsuit involving an October crash that killed a Ramona woman, court documents showed.

The collision shortly before 9 p.m. Oct. 9, 2006, on Highway 67 south of Mussey Grade Road claimed the life of Amy Marie Kortlang, 22.

Rafael Ramirez Perez, 22, who was driving the truck that struck Kortlang's car, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder and drunken-driving charges in connection with the crash. He was sentenced in February to 21 years to life in state prison.

Kortlang's parents, Melanie and Wayne Kortlang, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Superior Court in El Cajon against Perez; the company that employed him, MK Concrete, and the company's owner, Mark Kackstetter.

Documents filed with the court stated that the Kortlangs offered in writing on March 8 to resolve the lawsuit for a total amount of $449,999. The offer included the conditions that the defendants named in the lawsuit prove that the only liability insurance coverage available is a $500,000 automobile insurance policy and that if the offer was accepted, the settlement amount would be paid to the Kortlangs and their attorney within 45 days.

The offer also stated that if Kackstetter accepted the terms, all of the defendants in the lawsuit would be released from all of the legal claims the Kortlangs raised in the case.

In footnotes in a document filed in February with the Superior Court, Paul Traficante, attorney for Kackstetter and the company, wrote that Kackstetter and his company dispute the allegations that Perez had been permitted to drive the truck the night of the crash and that he was acting in the course of his job when the collision occurred. Kackstetter and his company do not admit any of the allegations in the lawsuit, one footnote stated.

The attorney for Kackstetter and his company filed a document March 27 stating that they accepted the terms of the Kortlangs' offer.

H. William Collins, the Kortlangs' attorney, and Traficante did not respond to messages left for them Tuesday and Thursday seeking comment. Perez's attorney, Peter Hughes, and Kackstetter, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman has said Perez was driving a truck owned by MK Concrete when he veered into the opposite lane and sideswiped a Dodge Caliber before slamming head-on into Kortlang's Honda Civic. Perez left the crash scene and was arrested two miles away, according to the Highway Patrol.

The lawsuit alleged that Perez was in the country illegally and had a driving record with the California Department of Motor Vehicles that included three misdemeanor drunken-driving convictions in 2003, a felony drunken-driving conviction in 2005, and multiple driver's license suspensions in 2003 and 2005.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego has said that Perez was deported to Mexico in March 2006 after serving time in custody for a drunken-driving conviction.

The lawsuit alleged that Perez drove under the influence of alcohol Oct. 9, 2006, "with a willful and conscious disregard" of Amy Kortlang's rights and safety.

The lawsuit also alleged that Kackstetter and his company gave Perez access to and permission to drive the truck. Kackstetter and his company knew or should have known Perez's immigration status and driving record and had a duty to "make a reasonable effort to confirm" that Perez was licensed and qualified to drive in California, the lawsuit alleged.

Hughes filed a response to the lawsuit in February on Perez's behalf in which Perez also generally denied all of the allegations in the lawsuit.

- Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.

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