Drunken driver victim’s family gains lawsuit settlement

May 22--BELLAIRE -- Diane Shafer's family had to learn to live without her, and not by choice.

A drunken driver, Thomas Altobelli, 61, of Harrison Township, snatched Diane Shafer from her husband Paul and their three daughters in a snowy November 2012 crash along the Alba Highway in Antrim County.

Altobelli left the Central Lake family without the devoted mother who volunteered in their classrooms to stay close to her daughters, supported their forays into dance and cheerleading and took them Christmas shopping right before the crash.

Paul Shafer still can't put the loss into words. A judge approved a hefty lawsuit settlement last week, but Shafer is only glad his family's legal wranglings with Altobelli are finished.

"No amount of money could replace her," Paul Shafer said.

The Shafer family will receive more than $500,000 from Altobelli, an insurance company and an Alba bar in the settlement approved by 13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power, said Paul Shafer's attorney George Thompson.

Thompson said the settlement closes a chapter on a "tragedy" that began when Altobelli got behind the wheel with a .23 blood-alcohol content, about three times the legal limit for driving, and smashed into the Shafers' minivan.

Diane Shafer lingered in a coma for two weeks before she died from her injuries on Dec. 7, 2012.

Altobelli eventually pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. He remains behind bars in Muskegon Heights' West Shoreline Correctional Facility, serving a 3- to 15-year sentence. His earliest potential release date is May 17, 2016.

The Shafers filed a personal injury lawsuit against Altobelli, a case that got off to a contentious start.

Altobelli's attorneys originally sought to dispute whether Altobelli's drunken actions made him liable for the crash, but they were too late in filing the necessary paperwork. Thompson also said Allstate Insurance officials originally claimed Altobelli only had $100,000 of coverage, a claim that later turned out to be false.

"It was set for jury trial on May 10. It's not an accident it was settled in the month leading up to that," Thompson said.

The lawsuit listed the Green Lantern Bar in Alba, which witnesses said served Altobelli even after he showed signs of intoxication, as a defendant. Thompson said the bar's insurance company will pony up about $50,000 in the settlement.

The bar's ownership changed hands in October. The former owners could not be reached for comment.

Thompson said there's one bright spot in the whole "sad" affair: "The only good thing you could say about it is (Paul) Shafer has done well by his kids."

Paul Shafer said he's juggling a new domestic situation with work at the former East Jordan Iron Works. He spends his time off with his daughters, ages 11, 14 and 15, who still like the things they used to do with their mother, such as dance and cheerleading.

Shafer said the community in which his wife lived, worked, coached and volunteered paid back her kindness with support in "any aspect you could think of."

"When this happened, you find out what kind of community you live in," he said.

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