Wrongful Death Lawyer
NEWARK -- The attorney for the sole uninjured participant in a deadly June crash said his side has proof the other driver was to blame.
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Edwin Hollern, attorney for Steve Neale Jr., declined to elaborate on what that evidence might be but stressed it would exonerate his client, who also is the subject of a criminal probe.
"Our position is clear," he said. "The driver of the other car was absolutely at fault. Steve Neale did not do anything wrong."
Early June 15, 38-year-old Neale, of Westerville, was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche northbound on Ohio 310 when he collided with a Saturn coupe driven by Gabrielle Mayabb, 18, who was eastbound on Morse Road.
Mayabb and two of her passengers, Kevin Miller, 25, and Nicole Swigert-Moats, 18, died of injuries sustained in the crash. Paul Davis Jr., 20, was hospitalized for more than a month. All were from Newark.
Blood testing determined Neale was above the legal limit for blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash, but he told responding Ohio Highway Patrol troopers he had the right-of-way.
Hollern said they "will be able to establish that my client had the green light."
Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Dan Huston has said in the seven months since the crash that investigators had to prove who disobeyed the traffic signal before any charges can be filed related to the deaths.
Since then, crash reconstructionists and car manufacturers have not been able to shed any light on the situation. Huston said the criminal investigation likely will conclude, with or without charges, by the end of the week.
"My understanding is there are no independent witnesses available," Huston said, "and if one of the parties is representing they have proof of who ran the red light, I would be very interested in having the opportunity to evaluate that evidence."
Bill Moats, father of Nicole Swigert-Moats, said he was unaware of any proof one way or the other, which is why he named Mayabb's estate as one of the defendants in a civil suit.
"I'll believe when I see it," he said Friday.
All the players involved in the civil and criminal actions said the cases are mutually exclusive and that with or without an indictment the wrongful-death lawsuit will move forward.