Driver who hit boys suing dead youth
Sharlene Simon was driving her SUV when it struck two young bicyclists, killing one and seriously injuring another. Now she is suing the boys, claiming her “enjoyment of life has been irretrievably lessened.”
A statement of claim filed last December alleges the Canada woman “sustained serious and permanent injuries to important physical, mental and psychological functions” following the October 2012 accident, reports the Toronto Star.
Brandon Majewski, 17, Richard McLean, 16, and Jake Roberts, 16, were riding their bikes in Ontario, Canada, at around 1:30 a.m. on 28 October when the accident took place.
Only Roberts escaped unharmed, and all three boys are listed in the lawsuit.
A 26-page reconstruction report by the South Simcoe Police Service said visibility of the cyclists was the main contributing factor to the crash. It says police were advised against laying charges by the Crown because “there is absolutely no reasonable prospect of a conviction.”
“The family feels like the wound has been opened up again,” the Majewskis’ lawyer Brian Cameron told the Star. “The legal theory I sort of understand, but never against a child. Not against a child.”
Cameron only told the family a few days ago, he said, because he wasn’t able to meet with them earlier.
“I was very shocked and I realized I couldn’t tell the parents over the phone,” he said.
The statement of claim reportedly alleges the boys were negligent, biking without the appropriate lights and reflectors, without helmets and they didn’t keep an eye on the road or their bikes under control.
It also claims negligence on the part of the County of Simcoe for failing to keep the road and lighting in good repair, The Star reports.
Simon's lawyer Michael Ellis defended her against criticism she has received since lodging the claim. “The whole situation is tragic,” he told the paper.
“It’s a tragedy what happened to the boys but it’s also a tragedy that’s happened to (Simon)."
“I understand their grief and I understand what they must be going through is awful but my client is also living with this nightmare every day.”
Majewski’s stepmother Lisa Tessier, described the lawsuit as cruel in an email to the Star.
“My dead son and the other boys are being sued by the woman that killed him because she is distraught.”
“Normally, I would not react like this. But I think it’s very cruel to me that my life is basically ruined. I lost both my children and now they (the three teens) are being sued because she is upset.”
Majewski’s older brother, Devon, was found dead at home six months after the accident.
The Majewski family previously filed a separate claim against Simon, her husband and the County of Simcoe alleging that she Simon was negligent: travelling at excessive speeds, failing to keep a proper lookout and operating while intoxicated and on the phone.
None of the claims have been tested in court.
