Jury: PennDOT partially to blame for fatal crash

Oct. 17--A Luzerne County jury has determined the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation shares 10 percent of the responsibility for a January 2011 vehicle crash on Suscon Road in Pittston Township that killed a 15-year-old girl.

The family of Kayla McGrady of Edwardsville had sued the driver, Scott Smith, and PennDOT.

Smith, now 20, already admitted negligence, acknowledging he was driving 130 mph immediately prior to the crash and about 90 mph when it approached the sharp curve where the wreck occured.

The jury determined Smith was 90 percent to blame for the crash.

Jurors only considered liability, as a possible damages portion was severed from the case.

It's unclear if another trial will be held to determine possible damages or if PennDOT and McGrady's family will reach a settlement.

Court documents indicate Erie Insurance, which held a policy on the car Smith was driving, already reached a $300,000 settlement with McGrady's family.

Attorneys for McGrady's family claimed PennDOT shared in the blame because there were no warning signs around the curve, a type of curve its own manuals say needs such signs.

"Scott Smith broke the law that night and he needs to be held accountable -- and he has. PennDOT broke their own laws too. They want a pass just because Scott was speeding," McGrady family attorney Edward Ciarimboli told a jury in closing arguments.

Smith admitted guilt and was adjudicated delinquent in February 2011 in juvenile court on charges that included homicide by vehicle. He remains under court supervision and could continue to be monitored until age 21.

PennDOT attorneys argued the curve where Smith crashed never was spotlighted as a problem before and signs are not mandatory at all curves. The agnecy said it shoudlered none of the liability.

Investigators said an unlicensed Smith, then 16, was driving at a minimum of 77 mph in a 45 mph zone when he lost control around the curve. McGrady, a sophomore at Wyoming Valley West High School, was ejected from the back seat of the 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse when the vehicle flipped in the air, landed on its roof and struck a guard rail.

Ciarimboli urged jurors to find PennDOT at least somewhat to blame.

"It's not zero. It could be one percent. If it is, that will be enough for this family," he said. "It will mean what happened in this courtroom meant something."

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