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By SHANNON TANLargo commissioners agree to pay $55,000 to a woman whose SUV was broadsided in 2002 by a dump truck that she says ran a stop sign.
LARGO - The City Commission approved a $55,000 settlement Tuesday to a Clearwater woman injured in a collision with a city dump truck three years ago.
Julie Alfano, 28, says she was driving on Trotter Road on Dec. 31, 2002, when the dump truck ran a stop sign and hit her Nissan Pathfinder.
Alfano filed a lawsuit against the city on Sept. 10, 2003, seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
Alfano claims she suffered neck and back injuries, a shoulder bruise from her seat belt, TemporoMandibular Joint (TMJ) syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome, according to documents filed in court.
A cocktail waitress at the Columbia restaurant on Sand Key, Alfano claimed she could not work after the accident. Her estimated loss of wages was $8,778.
According to Alfano's testimony in a sworn deposition, she was headed west on Trotter Road when the 2001 dump truck struck the passenger side of her SUV. She said Todd Hagenbuch, the driver, failed to stop at the stop sign.
"The windows shattered," she said in the deposition. "The car just froze up. And I couldn't even turn the ignition key after that. And I went forward into the side somehow."
A witness, Jeffrey Raub, backed up her account of the accident.
In his deposition, Raub said: "He just rolled on up. And the girl had no chance. She tried to swerve to miss him, but the truck just hit her car broadside."
But Hagenbuch, 34, insisted he did stop.
He said he was turning right from 11th Avenue SW onto Trotter Road, and came to a stop at the sign before turning, according to a city vehicle accident report.
"I felt a bang and realized that I had been hit," he wrote in the report. "I never saw a car anywhere."
Hagenbuch was not issued a citation in connection with the accident, but did receive a written warning from the city in his personnel file. Largo police determined that he caused the accident.
Pinellas County records show that Hagenbuch has been cited before for careless driving, speeding, running a stop sign, driving a vehicle in unsafe conditions, and failing to obey a traffic control device. He was arrested in 1994 on a DUI.
Records show that Alfano has previously received citations for failure to wear a seat belt and speeding.
Hagenbuch has been working for the city since 1998, and has been a state and international champion at garbage truck driving competitions, personnel records show.
He received a three-day suspension last year after striking a car that was passing his truck. Police found that both drivers were at fault.
After the accident, Alfano says she went to Morton Plant Mease and was told she had a slight concussion and whiplash. A doctor has recommended neck surgery, said her attorney, Catherine Nadeau.
Alfano is a stay-home mom who suffers from residual pain, Nadeau said.
"This was a pretty big impact," she said. "She (Alfano) had some problems driving for a little while after and she's gotten through that."
The city's risk manager and risk management committee recommended that commissioners approve settlement of the claim. Commissioners did so Tuesday without discussion.
Because of medical privacy laws, a memo outlining the proposed settlement was kept confidential. City Attorney Alan Zimmet said the memo contained medical information.
Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 445-4174.