Endymion parade crash victim sues driver, who has pleaded guilty in drunken wreck that injured 32
One of the 32 people
Reinhardt, the 41-year-old co-founder of the youth music and mentorship program Roots of Music, also sued Rizzuto's father, saying he had reason to suspect his son had a substance abuse problem when he bought the younger Rizzuto a truck and insurance for it.
Other defendants are the city of
Reinhardt alleges
Neither an attorney for Rizzuto nor
According to Reinhardt, the single mother of a college student, she was watching Endymion from the neutral ground at Orleans and North Carrollton avenues when she became the second person Rizzuto barreled into after he lost control of his truck.
Her lawsuit says she was conscious as she was trapped on the truck's grille until it crashed into a dump truck. The wreck left her with a fractured left collarbone, a dislocated left shoulder, broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken arm.
"In all honesty, I did not think I had my legs attached to my body at the scene of the accident," Reinhardt's suit says. "I'm very grateful to be alive, but my injuries have put me in a financial crisis."
Since the crash, she said, she has paid out of pocket for counseling as she copes with post-traumatic stress disorder and has been relying on a friend to provide her pro bono physical therapy.
Reinhardt said she's due
The lawsuit cites other unexpected expenses that added up when a friend -- in town from
"I did not cause this accident," said Reinhardt, who described working a full-time job and two part-time jobs to put her son through school. "I just don't understand why I have to be responsible for the financial obligations that I did not cause."
Police arrested Rizzuto following the accident, when he registered a .232 blood-alcohol level. Prosecutors charged him with 25 criminal counts. He pleaded guilty to 13 misdemeanors in September, then pleaded guilty in October to one more misdemeanor as well as the 11 felony charges against him.
Each of the felonies carries a maximum five-year sentence.
Reinhardt was among several victims to address Rizzuto in court in October.
"In just the flash of a second ... you really changed a lot of people's lives," Reinhardt said to the shackled Rizzuto, who cried as he heard her speak. "And not only the ones who were injured, but everybody who cares about the injured person had to go through it."
Rizzuto is expected to deliver a statement when he is sentenced
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