NORTHAMPTON — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by a Belchertown woman injured in a motorcycle crash on Route 63 in Leverett that killed her life partner last April.
The lawsuit was filed in Hampshire Superior Court this month by Karen Mercier, personal representative of the estate of Kevin Douville, and seeks unspecified punitive damages from Mary Christine Nelson of Leverett, who was driving the car that collided with the motorcycle.
The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, and gross negligence against Nelson, contending that her actions while driving in the opposite direction on the state highway last April 25 led to the crash.
“Nelson negligently attempted to take a left-hand turn into a driveway, directly into the path of the Douville motorcycle, causing a crash (that) resulted in the death of Kevin Douville,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also notes that Nelson, 79, has been charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Nelson is scheduled to be arraigned in Orange District Court on those charges on March 12, said Mary Carey, spokesperson for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Alan L. Cantor of Swartz & Swartz attorneys of Boston, representing Mercier, said Monday that he couldn’t yet comment on the lawsuit.
A call placed to a phone number listed for Nelson was not answered.
Source: The Recorder