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Wrongful death suit filed in February's fatal accident in Bethany

By Howard B. Owens

The father of Alyson D. Krzanak, the Genesee Community College student who died in an accident Feb. 21 at the intersection of Route 20 and Molasses Hill Road, Bethany, has filed a wrongful death suit against the driver of the car Krzanak was riding in as well as four other parties.

David Krzanak is the plaintiff as well as the estate of his daughter. He seeks damages "in an amount which exceeds the monetary jurisdictional limits of all lower New York State Courts but does not exceed the monetary jurisdictional limits of the New York State Supreme Court."

The wrongful death suit alleges that the driver of the vehicle, Hannah Dibble, as well as Leonard L. Odums, the Georgia resident driving the truck that hit Dibble's 1997 Geo, Celadon Trucking Services, Celadon Group and Frank's Garage of Akron, took actions that were negligent, reckless and careless, causing the death of Krazanak.

The 10-page document does not list any specific actions any of the defendants took that could be considered a cause of Krzanak's death.

There have been no criminal charges filed against Dibble, though Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster has confirmed that the Sheriff's Office has received the results of a toxicology report and both he and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman say the two offices have been in discussions about how to proceed.

The Dietrich Law Firm of Williamsville is representing the Krzanaks. Attorney Nicholas J. Shemik filed the lawsuit.

Howard B. Owens

We've covered this before ... Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble is related to Hannah, which is why Chief Brewster is supervising the investigation.

I should note, in an early version of the story, I transposed Dibble and Brewster's names. That has been corrected.

May 28, 2015, 10:15pm Permalink
Mark Taggett

Gotta love New York State! That truck driver isn't traumatized enough by a car full of partying kids at 2 in the morning - NOW LET'S SUE HIM!!! Hannah should absolutely be charged, (yes, she is the sheriff's great-niece, but he has recused himself from this case). Even is she didn't have one drop of alcohol or a drug in her system, you don't pack that many kids in a shit box like that, and to put 4 kids in the back seat taking all the weight off the front end of a front wheel drive vehicle is just asking for trouble. I'm sure her tires were half bald because that's how kids roll. She probably "couldn't afford" the $500-$600 for new tires, bet she wishes she would have spent $1,000 on new tires now, or maybe not gone out that night. Tires are so important, you have about 144 square inches of rubber touching the road at any point, make it the BEST 144 square inches it can be!!! I'm sure there's a million "if I had only", but they do no good now. Parents, talk to your kids, I don't care if they are "adults" over 18 or have been driving for 5 years, help them keep their vehicles in good working order tell them to wear their seatbelt, it doesn't matter where they are sitting in the vehicle! So many lessons to be learned from this, maybe some of these kids will be inspirational speakers some day, help one kid not have to go through what they have gone through, then maybe it will be worth. I pray for that poor truck driver, who is now being dragged into a wide sweeping lawsuit, just because New York says some greasy attorney can!

May 29, 2015, 8:42am Permalink
chuck ogeen

Mark are you a criminal investigator? Do you know for a fact the tires were bald? Please do assume she had bad tires unless you know the facts!

May 29, 2015, 11:15am Permalink
Lisa Woltz

Mark, If you read the article, this isn't about Hannah. I can't say whether or not this story.

I lost my 17 year old son to a head on collision to a truck loaded with oranges (40 ton gvw). It's hard enough for someone speculating whether or not? as you have. It takes hours upon hours for investigators to determine who's at fault. You can't blame this man for his grief.

I am also a retired truck driver. I had just gotten my license when my son was killed. There are so many things you don't know about trucks apparently. DOT makes sure the driver has his truck, log book (hours of service), hours of rest, mandatory pre-trip inspection of his truck.. They will tear his truck apart limb by limb. The company has him insured.

Now, what do you think the parent goes through? I can tell you for a fact, for the last 15 years, I still mourn my child as if it happened today. This man has a reason to do what he's doing. Every fiber of my being goes out to this father. Don't judge him unless you've walked in his shoes. I HAVE.

If you have never been a teenager before, done crazy things or just did things you regretted then you must have grown up in a nunnery.

May 29, 2015, 5:48pm Permalink
Mark Taggett

I am not a criminal investigator. I shouldn't have said "I'm sure" I should have said "I would be willing to bet". Lisa you totally misread my comments. It is not right that when a poor unsuspecting truck driver is pulled out in front of and 3 young people are critically injured in front of him and another dies right in front of him, the last thing he needs is a lawsuit. He did nothing wrong but simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's just awful that New York allows for him to be sued. I am also sorry for the loss
of your son. It has to be something you will never get over. Just get through.

May 29, 2015, 6:36pm Permalink
Tim Miller

Mark - anybody can be sued for anything* - a lawsuit is simply a piece of paper filed with the proper authority. Once the lawsuit is filed, it's up to a judge to dismiss it if it is ridiculous. If indeed the truck driver was doing nothing wrong, the judge should remove him from the wrongful death suit. To your point, though, if the guy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, the lawsuit is nothing but salt in his wounds to him...

I guess you could even be sued for defamation of character due to your "I'm sure..." statement. Of course, in a just world that would be thrown out with your quick correction.

May 30, 2015, 6:52am Permalink
Lisa Woltz

Mark. Whether you meant to say one or the other- you still imply.

The truck driver my son hit- yes I said my son. My son wasn't paying attention on a two lane road. He either looked over or down and crossed the center line. The truck driver said, "All I saw was his eyes and it was over".

Just months earlier, my son had gone on a road trip to Texas with my fiance and I. He was watching kids cutting off cars and all the things we see everyday from driver's who aren't careful.Adult and teens. That summer, down at Sinclairville High School, I began a class called 'Driver's Safety and Awareness Around Big Trucks'. This was the summer of '99. My son died in April of 2000.

It's easy to guess what that gentleman is going through. However, you have to also put yourself in what those parents are going through. They don't have their child. They never will. So yes. I don't blame them. I probably would have done the same- if I hadn't been a truck driver and I knew the police (my brother's co-worker's with the Highlands County Sheriff's Dept).

May 30, 2015, 11:02pm Permalink

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