Heitmann’s parents say the city council needs to give final approval for the settlement of the 2018 crash involving their son.
SAN DIEGO — After nearly five years of litigation, the mother and father of Trevor Heitmann, the 18-year-old YouTube celebrity who drove his McLaren the wrong way on the 805, killing himself and a mother and her young daughter in 2018, are days away from ending their lawsuit and settling with the city of San Diego.
According to court documents obtained by CBS 8, the San Diego City Council will be asked to approve the settlement at a council hearing next week.
The settlement will include “monetary compensation” for the family and amend San Diego Police policy regarding mental health calls. The specifics were not included in the court filings and will remain confidential until the settlement is finalized.
“Since reaching the conditional settlement, respective counsel have worked diligently to finalize its terms. As of the date of filing this application, all that remains to finalize the settlement is for the City Council to approve the settlement at an upcoming meeting on March 18, 2025, and sufficient time after the council meeting for the City to issue the necessary settlement drafts, “reads a declaration from Heitmann family attorney, John Donnelly.
The Police Call and the Crash
Just after 8:00 a.m. on August 23, 2018, Heitmann’s mother and father called San Diego Police requesting that they evaluate their 18-year-old son for a possible mental health break. Trevor Heitmann said his parents, a YouTube celebrity known by the name “McSkillet,” was in the grips of a mental break.
Before the 911 call, Heitmann’s parents said their son threatened to drive his McLaren Sportscar on the wrong side of the highway to prove he could not be hurt.
Two San Diego Police Officers arrived at the Heitmann family’s Carmel Valley home less than 15 minutes later.
“He’s got manic behavior,” Heitman’s mother said to the San Diego Police Officers who responded to the call.
“He’s never been diagnosed?” asked one of the officers.
“He needs to go to a doctor,” she told them.
“Before you start, ma’am, there are criteria. He has to be gravely disabled. He has to have a credible threat against somebody or be harmful to himself. There’s only certain criteria we can take him under,” said another officer.
“Downtown San Diego, all the homeless laying around, they’re not even gravely disabled,” he added.
“Who bought the car for him?” asked one officer.
“He bought it,” said Heitmann’s father.
“He bought a McLaren? At 18 years old?” asked an officer.
“He’s a very intelligent kid,” said Heitmann’s father. “He made $4 million in 10 months.”
“OK, he’s got to teach me his ways,” said an officer.
The officers, however, refused to talk to or evaluate Heitmann, who was in his room at the Heitmann family home at the time. The officers told the family that since Heitmann was over 18 years old, little could be done, and because he was an adult, he would have to call the police for help himself.
Body camera footage of 911 call to Heitmann house.
Minutes after the police left, on August 23, 2018, the YouTube star drove a McLaren at speeds above 100 miles per hour in the wrong direction on the 805 at Carrol Canyon Road. He struck an SUV driven by Aileen Pizarro and occupied by her 12-year-old daughter, Aryana.
The fiery crash killed Aileen and Aryana Pizarro and also Heitmann.
In January 2024, the city agreed to pay the families of Aileen and Aryana $6.125 million.
The court documents show the Heitmanns are next in line for a settlement.
On March 12, a judge will decide whether or not to grant what will be the last continuance in the proracted legal battle.