Shawnee County to pay $11,000 after car hit parks and recreation mower

Shawnee County will pay $11,000 after a Topeka woman hit a parks and recreation riding lawn mower in April.

Stacia Kolbek, 20, was driving southbound on S.W. Gage while the mower was northbound. At the intersection with S.W. 10th, John O'Shea, 71, driving the mower, attempted to turn left. Both vehicles had a green light, but O'Shea failed to clear the intersection before Kolbeck struck the back of the mower, official reports say.

The accident was investigated by John Boyd, superintendent of the green spaces/parkland division for Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, who said he believed Kolbek was at fault.

In his report, Boyd wrote: "The fact that the claimant impacted the rear of the machine as he was leaving the intersection leads me to believe she was inattentive and/or distracted. The machine is quite large and has flashing hazard lights so it is visible to traffic. John O'Shea was a participant in the accident, but in no way completely responsible for the results."

Topeka police officers, however, made no mention of speeding or inattentive driving in their accident report.

Rich Eckert, county counselor, told the commission Monday that Kolbek's insurance, Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Co., had requested $13,000 to settle claims for vehicle damage, car rental and medical expenses, but negotiated the final claim to $11,000.

The commission approved the payment unanimously.

Also at the meeting, commissioners approved:

- Soliciting bids to repair the spillway at Lake Shawnee at an estimated cost of $178,000 to $202,000. The commission planned to consider the item last week, but deferred it.

- Purchasing two rear-load solid waste trucks from Armor Equipment at a cost of $488,188.40 and a roll-off truck from Elliott Equipment for $166,477. Those prices include trade-ins and are purchased through the solid waste fund, so no tax money will be used.

- Soliciting bids to replace concrete in several areas, mostly sidewalks, at the Shawnee County Jail, at an estimated cost of $24,785.

- GO Topeka president and chairman Matt Pivarnik told commissioners 2,292 responded to a community survey about Topeka, which is being done as part of the organization's strategic development plan.

Credit: Luke Ranker [email protected]