Man injured when drunk school bus driver hit his car asks for max $500K GovGuam claim

Crash victim Darrin Bernardo asked Superior Court Judge Elyze Iriarte to award him $500,000 in damages, the maximum amount allowed under the Government Claims Act, during a bench trial held Tuesday.

Bernardo’s claim stems from a motor vehicle collision early morning on March 24, 2023.

He was on his way to work on Cross Island Road when a Department of Public Works bus, driven by Roy Joseph Q. Quintanilla, veered into his lane and collided head on with Bernardo’s Nissan Maxima.

No students were aboard the bus but Bernardo sustained injuries that kept him bedridden and unable to walk for the next 20 months, according to court documents.

Quintanilla was arrested that morning and charged with vehicular negligence as a third-degree felony and driving while impaired as a misdemeanor.

Bernardo’s car was totaled and he was brought to Guam Memorial Hospital for treatment and care. A nurse who attended to him said he would be needing surgery, Bernardo said.

But the hospital was full and all beds were occupied as the pandemic was winding down, he said.

On the stand, Bernardo testified that he was discharged that same day with prescriptions for medicine and painkillers. He did not see a doctor until a few weeks later, when he was informed that he needed surgery.

Quintanilla was charged and a grand jury indicted him two weeks later.

In January 2024, Bernardo — through his attorney Peter C. Perez — filed a verified civil complaint against the government of Guam, Quintanilla and his supervisors Eric Mansapit and Anthony Gumataotao.

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Before his bench trial, however, Quintanilla entered into a deferred plea agreement, filed Feb. 5, 2025 and approved by Presiding Judge Alberto C. Lamorena III, on Feb. 13, 2025.

In consideration of Quintanilla’s guilty plea to both charges, he would serve three years in jail, all suspended, with credit for time served.

During the two-year deferral period, there could be a possibility of early closure at the Veterans Treatment Court’s discretion, provided he enroll, participate and successfully complete all drug or alcohol counseling programs recommended, and pay a fine of $2,000.

It also stated that Quintanilla shall be held liable for restitution to Bernardo, to be determined at a restitution hearing.

During the bench trial, Perez reiterated the facts of the case and said that Quintanilla, in the employ of DPW under GovGuam, was responsible for changing the course of Bernardo’s life.

Perez said Quintanilla operated a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, was charged for that, as well as negligence, and entered a deferred plea admitting to those charges.

Attorney Tom Keeler, representing DPW out of the Office of the Attorney General, questioned the amount of damages that Bernardo claimed.

He said he could see a cost for lost wages and a totaled vehicle but said there was no expert testimony to justify what Bernardo’s projected medical costs would be.

Bernardo said at the time of his accident, he was the sole earner at his household and after the accident, he required constant care from his brother and mother, and his mother had to find a job to make ends meet.

The judge took the matter under advisement, and is expected to issue a decision and order on the matter.