Dutchess found partially liable in crash
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. >> Dutchess County could be on the hook to pay millions of dollars to a Hudson man who was seriously injured in a 2018 car crash at the intersection of county Route 79 and Rockefeller Lane in Red Hook.
A Dutchess County jury awarded Easton J. Gregory $14.5 million for medical expenses and pain and suffering he experienced as a result of the crash. The jury found the county liable for 20% of the damages. It ordered Lylah B. Crewes, who was driving the car that slammed into the vehicle Gregory was riding in, to pay the remaining 80% of the award.
However, in statements to the Freeman, County Attorney Caroline Blackburn said the county in separate actions filed an appeal to the verdict and will “move swiftly” to have the verdict set aside. The $4.5 million in medical expenses will be the subject of a “collateral source hearing,” she stated.
“The entire award will also be subject to a motion to set aside the verdict or reduce the verdict as it is not supported by the weight of the evidence at trial,” Blackburn said.
“The county will move swiftly to set aside the verdict as it relates to the County’s role, as we believe it contradicts the clear evidence presented during the case,” she said in a statement. “Additionally, we await the opportunity to be heard on an appeal, which is pending as a result of pretrial motion practice.”
John Nash, Gregory’s attorney, declined to comment.
According to court documents, Gregory was in the back passenger seat of a 2003 Chevy Malibu traveling south on Budds Corners Road at about 7:24 p.m. June 25, 2018, when Crewes, who was traveling west in a 2006 Subaru Forrester, failed to stop at the stop sign on Rockefeller Lane and slammed into the vehicle Gregory was in. The impact of the crash pushed the Malibu into a tree, with the rear passenger side taking the brunt of that secondary impact, court documents stated.
Gregory suffered 12 broken ribs, traumatic brain injury, and internal injuries. He spent three months in the hospital during which he was placed on a ventilator and in an induced coma, and also lost a portion of the thumb of his dominant hand, according to court filings.
Crewes, who was 17 at the time, was driving with a junior license at the time of the crash, had two passengers in the car and did not have a supervising driver over the age of 21, a violation of state vehicle and traffic laws.
In a pre-trial deposition, Crewes said she was momentarily blinded by the sun and did not see the stop sign at the intersection of Rockefeller Lane and county Route 79. She said the day of the accident was the first time she had ever been on Rockefeller Lane.
In ordering the county to pay 20% of the total award, jurors found that the county was aware that the intersection was dangerous but failed to do anything to mitigate the dangers.
The intersection has been the site of several accidents over the years, including a 2007 motorcycle accident that left one person dead. After that accident, the county conducted a traffic study on Whalesback Road, which is on the west side of county Route 79 and directly across from Rockefeller Lane. County Route 79 is known as Linden Avenue south of that intersection and Budds Corners Road north of the intersection.
As a result of that traffic study, Whalesback Road was narrowed where it meets County Route 79 and a second stop sign was installed on the north side of the road. No changes were made to the Rockefeller Road intersection.
According to court documents, Red Hook Highway Superintendent Theresa Burke said that town officials had requested the county install a four-way stop sign at the intersection, which would have required traffic traveling both north and south on County Route 79 to stop.
Those stop signs were never installed.