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Her goal is legacy for dead husband

She holds a body shop owner responsible for his death. Now she wants a law requiring shops to carry liability insurance.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published January 28, 2005

PORT RICHEY - Abelardo Castillo was so thrilled when he picked up his 1986 Camaro, he didn't even mind the purplish coat of primer.

The dents in the doors had been smoothed out. The front end of the racing machine had been rebuilt. And the primer was only temporary, until the 41-year-old pianist, painter and substitute teacher saved up enough money for a sleek red paint job.

Castillo called his wife, Marie, and insisted on driving her to work that afternoon.

"He said, "Honey, you've got to see the car,' " she recalled.

But four hours after he left the body shop, a few loose lug nuts cost Castillo his life.

The tiny metal knobs fell off the left rear wheel while Castillo was on U.S. 19, about 2 miles south of the Pasco-Hernando county line.

He lost control, veered across the median and collided with a sport utility vehicle.

The impact crushed the passenger side of the Camaro and shattered the seat belt mechanisms. Castillo was thrown from his dream car to his death.

The crash happened over Memorial Day weekend four years ago, and to this day Castillo's widow blames Constant Perfection body shop.

Dean Miller, owner of the one-man repair shop, admitted taking off the wheels as part of the body work. But he insisted he used an air impact wrench to securely refasten them.

"I know they were tight," Miller told the Pasco Times this week.

Castillo's wife didn't believe him. She filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Miller in the fall of 2001, but she stopped pursuing the case because the mechanic had no insurance, no property and few assets.

"There was just nothing to take," said the widow, Marie Collado, who has since remarried.

Collado found out the hard way that auto repair shops are not required to carry insurance for their work. Based on this case, state Sen. Mike Fasano filed a bill this week that would require mechanics to carry $1-million in liability coverage.

"While nothing can be done to bring the life of the unfortunate victim back, nor the suffering of his family erased, perhaps the heartache of future potential victim's families may be averted," said Fasano, R-New Port Richey.

Florida's 20,000 auto repair shops are regulated by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The head of that agency, Charles Bronson, suggested Fasano amend the bill to require insurance companies to notify his office if a mechanic's insurance lapses.

"If we find any violations of our law, we have an array of tools at our disposal, ranging from small fines to revoking their license to do business," agency spokesman Terence McElroy said .

The measure is sure to face resistance from mechanics like Miller, who still restores classic cars from his self-described "hole in the wall" repair shop in Port Richey.

"The prices would kill us, the small independent shops," Miller said.

He used to carry a $500,000 liability policy, but he said he let it lapse a few months before Castillo's crash because "that was money I needed to feed my kids."

"They shouldn't force you to," Miller said. "This state is so licensed and taxed, for the small businessman to survive, you need to have pockets deep enough to cover it all."

But Collado said that sticks victims' families with the financial hardship. Devastated by her husband's death, Collado said she lost her job at a nursing home because her mind wasn't on her work.

"Within two weeks of losing my job, I got evicted, the utilities went off . . . it was just a mess," she said.

Her brother-in-law ended up paying for the funeral. Her sister took care of her two daughters.

In time she got her life back on track: She got a job as a certified nursing assistant at another nursing home, she found another house, she remarried. But she can't let go of her previous husband's tragedy until it means something.

"I'm hoping by this bill being passed, that No. 1, these body shop owners are going to be a lot more careful about what they do. They'll check and double-check everything, because they don't want their insurance premiums to go up," said Collado, who is already calling law enforcement agencies and legislators to drum up support of the bill.

"And No. 2, if - God forbid - this happens to anybody else," she said, "at least the family can be financially compensated for what they lose."

Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 28, 2005, 00:21:17]