Court awards $5 million to woman injured in fatal Warren crash

July 07--WARREN, Maine -- A 19-year-old woman who was severely injured last year in a two-vehicle accident that claimed the life of another woman has received a court judgment of $5 million against the driver accused of causing the crash.

But how that judgment will be collected is not clear.

Justice Daniel Billings issued an order Monday in Knox County Unified Court awarding the judgment on behalf of Oliva Blachet against 20-year-old Samuel Simmons of Spruce Head.

Simmons is awaiting trial on a criminal charge of manslaughter in connection with the March 20, 2014, crash on Route 1 in Warren. Nothing has been released by the defense attorney or district attorney's office concerning the basis for the manslaughter charge.

Simmons was driving north on Route 1 at about 7:30 a.m. that day when his 1997 GMC Sierra pickup truck crossed the center line near the intersection of Western Road and struck a southbound 2003 Subaru Forester driven by Alison Low of Warren, police reported.

Low died at the scene. Her 18-year-old son, Dustin Kimball of Warren, was seriously injured but recovered. Kimball's girlfriend, Blachet, spent more than five months at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Stormy Boisvert and Michael Blachet filed a lawsuit on behalf of Olivia Blachet in July 2014, claiming negligence on the part of Simmons. The lawsuit stated that the police report concluded Simmons was fatigued and sleepy.

Simmons has no recollection of the crash and he may have fallen asleep, Knox County Sheriff Donna Dennison said after the crash.

The judgment grants $800,000 to Blachet for medical expenses, $1 million for future lost earnings and $3.2 million for pain and suffering. The civil suit stated that Blachet, who was 27 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash, suffered permanent neurological injuries as a result of the crash.

The devastating injuries will take away any hope she had of a normal life as a mother, the lawsuit stated.

Simmons had no insurance at the time of the crash, according to court papers.

A telephone message left Tuesday with Blachet's attorney Mark Lavoie of Portland was not immediately returned. Simmons' attorney Eric "Rick" Morse of Rockland declined to comment about the settlement or how his client would pay the judgment.

Simmons is scheduled to appear in court later this month for a dispositional hearing on the criminal case.

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