SUNBURY - Civil lawsuits filed on behalf of four teens injured in a DUI-related accident near Mount Carmel Area Elementary School on March 28, 2012, will be consolidated into one case that will be heard by Northumberland County Judge Charles H. Saylor.
The judge's law clerk, Erin Odell, said attorneys representing the plaintiffs and defendants did not object to consolidating the cases during a telephone conference Tuesday morning with Saylor. Odell said no further legal proceedings have been scheduled in the case.
Tonya Campbell, of Diamondtown, mother of 16-year-old Andrew Campbell; Brenda Miscavage, of Mount Carmel, mother of 14-year-old Seanna L. Zimmerman; Charlotte Schultz, mother of Jarrett Schultz, 17; and Tyler Wondoloski, 19, of Mount Carmel, filed civil suits against Victor E. Swaboski III, 39, of 320 S. Beech St., Mount Carmel, who was the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident, and Brewser's Sports Grille, 839 W. Water St., Coal Township, a restaurant where Swaboski allegedly consumed alcohol prior to the crash.
Andrew Campbell and Zimmerman were flown by Life Flight helicopter to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville following the accident, which occurred along Locust Gap Highway in Beaverdale. Also injured were Wondoloski, Chelsea Troutman, 14, and Schultz.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Swaboski, a former teacher at Shamokin Area Elementary School, was charged by Mount Carmel Township police with multiple offenses, including driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated assault, hit and run and recklessly endangering. His criminal case is pending in Northumberland County Court.
The suits, which demand jury trials, claim negligence against Swaboski for his alleged actions and against the bar for serving liquor or alcohol to what they claim was a visibly intoxicated person. Police said Swaboski's blood-alcohol content taken after the accident was .225 percent.
The suits claim Swaboski operated his Jeep Liberty in a careless, reckless, outrageous and negligent manner and created a dangerous situation for others on the road.
In addition to accusing Brewser's of wrongly serving Swaboski, the suit says the restaurant failed to properly train and supervise its employees to prevent them from selling liquor or alcohol to intoxicated patrons, failed to warn Swaboski that he shouldn't drive due to his intoxicated state and failed to prevent him from operating a vehicle while he was visibly intoxicated. It says the restaurant furnished him with alcohol "in a reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others."