Nearly one and a half years after a disgruntled mechanic killed nine of his coworkers, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on Thursday announced an $8 million settlement with the widows, children and other family members left grieving in the wake of the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting.
The agreement — reached with eight of the nine victims’ families — is split evenly among them. Along with the settlement, victims’ families have previously received one year of their loved one’s salary and workers’ compensation death benefits. The agency also agreed to pay $4.9 million in retirement benefits in the form of monthly payments totaling $3,000 or more.
The settlement is far less than the hundreds of millions of dollars in initial damage claims families filed in November 2021. And for some family members, the agreement has done little to heal wounds left from the shooting, while the lack of accountability leaves a bitter taste in their mouths.
