Woman sues teen she hit and killed

[tlcya]

Most excellent post kamille

 

[SophieRose]

http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/4497003-celebration-of-life-rally-for-majewski-this-sunday/

A rally in the memory of Brandon Majewski, the Alcona teen who was killed while riding his bicycle in 2012, will be held Sunday.

But organizers are billing the 1:30 p.m. event at the Innisfil Recreation Complex as a celebration of his short life rather than a protest aimed at South Simcoe Police.

 

[Kamille]

I have driven to our family cottage at night, the roads are long, winding and go up and down..I always have my HIGH beams on unless another car is approaching and then I do what we are supposed to do, I lower them until the vehicle passes..I agree I can see a lot..the high beams illuminate so much

I question if she had her HIGH Beams on and if she was driving faster than 90km/h that she said she was doing.

She is the only one who can tell the Police if she had her high beams on, oh wait,,perhaps her husband as well....

The crime scene techs would be the ones who could determine the speed at which she was travelling by the skids marks Right?

Went to check the distance at which low and high beam illuminate the roadway ahead
Low Beam 100 to 150 feet
High Beam 350 to 400 feet

Even if the high beams were on, if she was moving up that small hill, she still would not have been able to see what was on the other side until she crested the top. About 95 percent of cars have an automotive data recorder. Most likely hers did. By September 100 percent of cars will be manufactured with this device. It is like a "black box" for an automobile and would record the speed and braking prior to the accident (not sure but even possibly the lights). I assume that information is available in the report.

MOO

 

[Kamille]

http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/4497003-celebration-of-life-rally-for-majewski-this-sunday/

A rally in the memory of Brandon Majewski, the Alcona teen who was killed while riding his bicycle in 2012, will be held Sunday.

But organizers are billing the 1:30 p.m. event at the Innisfil Recreation Complex as a celebration of his short life rather than a protest aimed at South Simcoe Police.

It is very troubling that the community is supporting the notion that their own police service would not do a proper investigation because the woman's husband is a police officer. If that were not the case, none of this would even be questioned IMO.

 

[1&2&3]

Kids riding in the middle of the road is a disaster waiting to happen! Night time, no reflectors on their bikes, or safety clothes on, they think they are invincible at their age.

It is difficult to see things unlit at night. Last night I was coming home from the store about 9:00 PM, flat neighborhood city street, sparsely lite, when a deer ran in front of me. Speed was 35 mph so I was able to dodge it as I prayed there weren't more behind it. Thankfully, the other deer had already crossed and were waiting for the one that ran in front of me.
Had I been going 50 mph or more, the story would have been different. It was like the deer came from nowhere, just as I am sure the bicyclists did.

Most small cities know the reputation of their police force, so it doesn't surprise me that the community feels a proper investigation was not done due to the drivers husband being a police officer. And, he was following her, so he was at the site when it happened.

To me, it was an unavoidable accident with the boys in the middle of the road. A sad situation. Also, in most cases, if one party is sued, the other party counter sues - just part of the insurance game.

My opinions only.

 

[Intermezzo]

Even if the high beams were on, if she was moving up that small hill, she still would not have been able to see what was on the other side until she crested the top. About 95 percent of cars have an automotive data recorder. Most likely hers did. By September 100 percent of cars will be manufactured with this device. It is like a "black box" for an automobile and would record the speed and braking prior to the accident (not sure but even possibly the lights). I assume that information is available in the report.

MOO

I thought about that Small hill..even though the accident occurred on the flat part

I am not sure which way she was driving down the larger hill or up over the small one...

 

[danzn16]

I just read about this in the newspaper last night at work



There is more to this story from another witness on the scene



A female witness gives an account how she and her husband pulled over once they came upon the scene.

Her husband checked on 2 of the boys and She saw Brandon in the middle of the road, she went to him and held his hand while he was gasping for breath..

She attempted CPR until someone with more experienced arrived

She questions why the driver and her husband were allowed to leave the scene while she and other witnesses had to stay

The Husband of the Driver who hit the teens is ALSO suing



Witness who held Innisfil teen's hand after fatal bike crash speaks up

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/20...teen-following-fatal-bicycle-crash-speaks-out



She says she recalls the driver's "husband" suddenly appeared frantic at the side of the road and asked her their location so he could call police. She told him and he walked back to his wife's vehicle.



"Then he was gone," Lachance said. "I never saw him again."



Even more confusing Cameron said, is the fact that the woman's husband, Jules Simon, a York Regional Police officer, is also suing for $100,000 for damages and expenses incurred because of his wife's suffering



-------------------------------------------------------

Good lord can anyone now a days just deal with what happens in their life without suing everybody? It was a tragic accident. Let it go. Let everyone try to move on. This country is ridiculous with lawsuits.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gardenlady]

Canada is ridiculous with lawsuits? Who knew?! :crazy:

This whole thing of suing back and forth is just a product of how insurance companies "work". It's what they do. People pay to be covered in event of an accident or loss, but when it's time to pay up, the company goes into overdrive looking for ways to get out of paying, up to and including suing everyone and their uncle. The insured often has almost no say in the matter.

Worked too many years in the insurance industry, auto, homeowners, and medical. It's the same in every category.

 

[Gardenlady]

Also, consider this - what are your options when, hypothetically, an orchestrated campaign of rumor mongering is going on against you, to the point where it begins to affect, say, your kids' lives, your employment situation, and your everyday interactions in your hometown? Your only real recourse IS a lawsuit, and not necessarily to only recoup damages (say, the form of lost wages), but to get facts aired publicly and to stop the actions against you.

That may or may not apply in this particular case, but dismissing all lawsuits as frivolous, u necessary, or as not being able to "deal" is..well.. Frivolous in itself lol.

 

[Tugela]

I have a different perspective on this case than the majority of you because of a case that happened locally to me: A driver hit and killed two children riding their bikes with their mother. It happened in broad daylight- so there isn't the blame the teens for being out at 1:30a.m. in this case. The driver was impaired by drugs- yet she wasn't given a DUI- because she fled the scene. It was a couple of days before she turned herself in, so no breathalyzer test would've been valid. Yet, it was proven that she was impaired and she was convicted. I'll side with the bike riders in this case, not the driver.

What happened in your local case has no bearing on what happened in this case.

The Driver in this instance was apparently cleared of wrongdoing. That means she did not flee the scene and was not intoxicated. It also means that the cyclists likely did not have lights and/or reflectors on their equipment.

Under those circumstances the operator at fault is the cyclist, not the motorist.

 

[Tugela]

The driving 10KM/H over the posted limit is HER word..right? She told the Police she was driving 90KM/H in a 80KM/H zone

And I agree most Officers would not stop you or ticket you for 10 over the limit.. you don't lose any Demerit points on your Drv Lic at 10KM/H over the speed limit either.

My brother in laws are Police Officers..IN the City they may pull drivers over for doing 10 over the limit in a Residential area. BUT they rarely issue a ticket..Mostly warnings because there are children in the area.

90, 80 or a 100 km/h makes no difference.....at those speeds a cyclist being hit is probably going to have serious injuries.

 

[Tugela]

I completely agree with this whole post!!! I've also been noticing a disturbing trend lately here on more than one thread of blaming the victim rather than the driver.

The driver may be the victim however. The person who breaks the law is the wrongdoer, and in this case it would appear that the ones breaking the law were the kids, not the driver. The fact that one of them was killed does not make them a victim.

 

[Tugela]

Countersuits are not obligatory. You have to have actual standing to sue, regardless. Many people simply defend against a suit and do not counter sue.

In this case, I understand why she did it and it does appear she may have legal grounds to sue, but it is in poor taste. The child died. It doesn't matter if they made a mistake, IMO, when it comes to who is at fault and thus whether she has a claim because she is alive and they are dead so they've already paid the ultimate price.

The driver is suing because the parents are suing her. If they were not doing that, then she probably would not be either. Perhaps she just wants to bring home the point to them that she was not at fault in the accident, primarily their kid was (in the sense that the accident resulted from his improper operation of a vehicle on the road). I think that is a reasonable action under those circumstances.

 

[Tugela]

Kids riding in the middle of the road is a disaster waiting to happen! Night time, no reflectors on their bikes, or safety clothes on, they think they are invincible at their age.

It is difficult to see things unlit at night. Last night I was coming home from the store about 9:00 PM, flat neighborhood city street, sparsely lite, when a deer ran in front of me. Speed was 35 mph so I was able to dodge it as I prayed there weren't more behind it. Thankfully, the other deer had already crossed and were waiting for the one that ran in front of me.
Had I been going 50 mph or more, the story would have been different. It was like the deer came from nowhere, just as I am sure the bicyclists did.

Most small cities know the reputation of their police force, so it doesn't surprise me that the community feels a proper investigation was not done due to the drivers husband being a police officer. And, he was following her, so he was at the site when it happened.

To me, it was an unavoidable accident with the boys in the middle of the road. A sad situation. Also, in most cases, if one party is sued, the other party counter sues - just part of the insurance game.

My opinions only.

If she was moving at 90 km/h on a poorly lit road, any vehicle or object without lights or reflectors would loom out of the dark at VERY short notice. It would also be completely unexpected. They would have just appeared in front her in an instant and then SMACK. At that speed she would have had 2-3 seconds at best to react.

If these cyclists were operating their vehicles on the road like that it doesn't surprise me that one of them were hit. Bicycles are required to have lights and reflectors at night for good reason.

It sounds like there were other people on the scene as well. I wonder if oncoming traffic headlights played a role. They will temporarily blind you as they approach your car, especially if headlights are not dipped.

 

[tlcya]

A Canadian woman is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against the families of three teenage boys that she hit while driving her SUV on a rainy October night in 2012.

SNIP

“This is a routine matter that would have been settled long ago,” he said. “But now, with her lawsuit, a relatively uncomplicated insurance process has become much more complicated … this is just prolonging the family’s pain.”

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/soci...agers-suing-victims-families-emotional-trauma

INNISFIL - The last thing Richard Esch saw on his best friend’s face before he was struck and killed by an SUV while they rode their bicycles, was a smile.

SNIP

But he can’t forget the fact that the woman who struck them is suing the boys and their families for her own emotional trauma.

SNIP

Because of scheduling difficulties, a pre-trial proceeding is not expected until August.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/10/teen-injured-by-suv-upset-driver-is-suing-him-too

 

[Valleyboy]

Lawyer: Driver suing family over fatal crash was texting

INNISFIL - Grief-stricken parents who are being sued by the woman who struck and killed their son are filled with outrage after their lawyer says new evidence suggests the woman may have been speeding and texting while driving.

About a year ago, the parents of Brandon Majewski, 17, were left in disbelief after they learned that the woman who killed their boy is now suing the family because she was traumatized.

Now, the lawyer for the parents says an accident report from an engineering firm shows the police investigation may have been botched.


http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2017/01/10/lawyer-driver-suing-family-over-fatal-crash-was-texting

 

[JeannaT]

Lawyer: Driver suing family over fatal crash was texting

INNISFIL - Grief-stricken parents who are being sued by the woman who struck and killed their son are filled with outrage after their lawyer says new evidence suggests the woman may have been speeding and texting while driving.

About a year ago, the parents of Brandon Majewski, 17, were left in disbelief after they learned that the woman who killed their boy is now suing the family because she was traumatized.

Now, the lawyer for the parents says an accident report from an engineering firm shows the police investigation may have been botched.


http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2017/01/10/lawyer-driver-suing-family-over-fatal-crash-was-texting

Ok. She was texting, or she wasn't. I don't understand what evidence suggests the woman MAY be texting. If she was texting, it does seem exceptionally bold to counter sue - surely she knew they would look into her phone records.

 

[Kamille]

Ok. She was texting, or she wasn't. I don't understand what evidence suggests the woman MAY be texting. If she was texting, it does seem exceptionally bold to counter sue - surely she knew they would look into her phone records.

According to the article, a "friend" claims that she told them that she was reading a text from her mother at the time of the crash, a comment that she has denied making. So it won't be presented that she was actually "texting" by typing into her own phone, which could be proven with phone records, as the title of the article suggests. The evidence of her looking at and reading a text on her phone will come from what is now likely a former friend.

I notice that the article also didn't mention whether the teen's family is still pursuing their civil suit against the driver, which is a little deceiving as to what may actually be going on between the two families.

MOO

 

[HMSHood]

Good lord can anyone now a days just deal with what happens in their life without suing everybody? It was a tragic accident. Let it go. Let everyone try to move on. This country is ridiculous with lawsuits.


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I happen to look this up about Sharlene Simon. She is pretty much shamed on the Internet, ala Justine Sacco, Lori Drew, Adam Mark Smith, or Lindsey Stone.

It reminds me of this story.

Man Who Hit, Killed Teen Cyclist Drops Lawsuit Over Car Damage
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/0...en-cyclist-drops-lawsuit-over-car-damage.html

 

[HMSHood]

Stepmother chronicles Innisfil family's tragedy in her book, ‘The Majewski Curse’

I could not any updates about the lawsuit. Derek Majewski passed away from cancer in 2017. Likely from the grief.