Millionairess entrepreneur, 79, whose late husband invented light beer wins huge payout after she was struck by San Francisco cable car at ‘confusing’ junction

An elderly entrepreneur won an $11 million payout after suffering life-changing injuries when she was hit by a cable car at a “confusing” intersection in San Francisco.

Ruth Owades, 79, was struck by the historic cable car on December 28, 2022 and subsequently filed a lawsuit against San Francisco’s transit agency.

She said she was “active and completely independent” before the incident, but the collision left her with a number of injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and spinal fractures. Her payout was first reported by the San Francisco standard.

Ruth, the widow of light beer inventor Joseph L. Owades, was a successful businesswoman in her own right, but since the incident she has required 24-hour care and suffers from “severe cognitive deficits,” according to her lawsuit.

The elderly business owner was unexpectedly struck as she walked past a marked crosswalk (pictured) that was “confusing, misleading and dangerous to pedestrians,” according to her lawsuit.

According to her court filings, Owades was unexpectedly struck at 5:23 p.m. as she walked past a marked crosswalk that was “confusing, misleading and dangerous to pedestrians.”

The lawsuit adds, “Pedestrians, drivers and cable car operators are confused by the intersection and crosswalk, as well as the signs, markings and traffic controls at the scene of the collision.”

Per one KRON4 According to the report at the time, Owades, who lives in a $2.8 million home, was found on the street and taken to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries.”

The 78-year-old was then put into a medically induced coma and intubated, and further tests revealed she suffered fractures to her L1 vertebrae and her scapula.

Her lawsuit notes that her injuries “require assistance with all activities of daily living, including dressing, walking, personal hygiene, grocery shopping, and preparing meals.”

She also suffers from ongoing ‘cognitive deficits’ and has balance problems that put her at risk of falls, which also landed her in the emergency room at least once since being hit by the cable car.

Ruth (pictured giving the 2013 Commencement Speech at Scripps College) was a successful businesswoman for decades, but requires 24-hour care after being hit by the cable car

After a closed session this week, the San Francisco standard reports that the San Francisco Transit Agency’s board of directors has voted to approve an $11 million settlement for Owades.

The same vote also approved a $5.5 million payout for a separate incident involving Mei Yu Lin. Details of that incident are unclear, with a submit noting that these were only ‘allegations of personal injury due to the operator’s negligence’.

In a statement to the SF Standard, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said, “We believe the proposed settlement is an appropriate resolution.”

Although her late husband is known in the beer industry as the “Father of Light Beer,” Ruth’s successful business career led to her “accomplishments being taught in business schools across the country,” according to her lawsuit.

Ruth, a successful entrepreneur herself, is the widow of Joseph L. Owades (pictured), the inventor of light beer

She was profiled in a HuffPost Tributes to ‘Groundbreaking Women’where she was described as a serial entrepreneur known for “changing the way we buy flowers.”

This achievement came during her time as CEO and president of Calyx & Carolla, the first online fresh flower catalog, which “reinvented the flower distribution chain,” the post said.

Her other ventures included the gardening store Gardener’s Eden, which was purchased by Willaims-Sonoma, and she was a director of Armstrong World Industries, Deckers Outdoor Corporation, J. Jill Group and Providian Financial.

She also served on the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School.