Posted on 12/29/2004 8:03:24 AM PST by Ellesu
An Idaho man already accused of negligently rolling his tractor-trailer last year has now been sued by a woman who lost her unborn child in the accident.
Brian Sala, 50, and his employer at the time, trucking company Edwards Brothers Inc., are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Fatima Zukic was 35 weeks pregnant when Sala tipped his tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 191 on August 7, 2003.
The accident happened about 25 miles south of Four Corners. Sala was northbound, hauling a refrigerated trailer with hundreds of cases of beer inside.
Sala flipped the tractor coming around a corner and slid into the southbound lane. A Kia Sportage smashed into the trailer. A Buick LeSabre, in which Zukic was a passenger, did the same.
Zukic, of Spokane, Wash., broke her pelvis in the collision. And, according to a lawsuit filed in Gallatin County District Court last week, Zukic's uterus ruptured as a result of the impact.
She lost her unborn baby, Ajla Zukic.
Six other people, including Sala, suffered minor injuries in the accident. The crash backed up traffic in the Gallatin Canyon for five miles in both directions for several hours. Almost half the beer in the trailer spilled into the Gallatin River. It took two days to clean it up.
Soon after the accident, the Gallatin County attorney's office filed misdemeanor charges against Sala, accusing him of negligent endangerment for driving too fast and possessing marijuana.
He is not charged in connection with the death of the unborn child. Under Montana law, a fetus is not considered a human life. It says "a human being is a person who has been born and is alive."
Deputy County Attorney Eric Kitzmiller wouldn't speculate on whether Sala would face a more serious charge, such as negligent homicide, if the law in this state was different.
"We apply the law as it is written in Montana," Kitzmiller said.
In other states, such as California, a fetus is considered a human life with regard to criminal charges. Laws addressing fetuses vary state by state.
Sala has a hearing on the misdemeanor charges in Justice Court on Jan. 24.
Now Zukic and her family have sued Sala for negligence, wrongful death and emotional distress. The family, through its attorney Milton Datsopoulos, of Missoula, is asking for an unspecified amount of damages.
The lawsuit alleges that Sala was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
"Damages are warranted in this action as a punishment ... for their reckless and wanton acts and as a deterrent to the defendants and others for committing the same or similar actions which endanger the general safety of Montana citizens," Datsopoulos wrote in the complaint.
Sala was fired from Edwards Brothers Inc. following the accident, a spokesman at the Idaho company said Tuesday.
I assume California has criminal charges for murder. So what is CAs definition of murder?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.