Woman Who Struck And Killed Teen Is Somehow Justifying Suing Him For Emotional Damages

A woman who struck and killed a 17-year old boy is suing him and his friends for the emotional damage she claims she is experiencing after the accident that left Brandon Majewski dead and two of his friends injured, one seriously.

Sharlene Simon struck the group of boys at 1:30 in the morning on the rural Innisfil Beach Road in the town of Innisfil, about 50 miles north of Toronto in October of 2012. A South Simcoe accident reconstruction team eventually determined that it was a “lack of visibility” that caused the accident, and no charges were filed in this case, given that it was “drizzling”, and that none of the boys were using proper reflective devices on their clothing or bikes.

It’s terribly tragic, and that’s when you put it in simple terms. Unfortunately, nothing about this case has been even remotely simple.

For starters, Majewski’s parents, Derek Majewski and his ex-wife Vanetta Mlynczyk claim that the accident was not investigated properly. They suspect that Simon was under the influence at the time of the accident, and the fact that her husband, a police officer, was allegedly following her at the time and did not administer a breathalyzer certainly doesn’t help allegations of impartiality.

On the other hand, she was tested with an “approved screening device”, which determined there was no alcohol in her system, and therefore no reason to administer the more stringent test, according to The Ottawa Citizen. An investigation by the South Simcoe police force determined that the allegations of bias were unsubstantiated.

Majewski’s parents took issue with that, and remain unconvinced, expressing that they had expected the investigation to be conducted by an outside entity. They also take issue with the fact that the fault was laid on Brandon and his friends for not wearing enough reflective clothing, saying:

”They’re kids; they’re allowed to make a mistake.”

It’s difficult to disagree with that, but it is hard to understand why three teens were out so late on a dark country road. On the other hand, how do you reconcile the fact that Simon was driving over the speed limit on a low visibility road?

Compounding the entire tragedy is the fact that Majewski’s brother, Devon, took the tragedy especially hard and died in his sleep six months later after consuming a deadly mix of pills and alcohol.

With so much heartache and devastation coloring this case, it isn’t any wonder to me that Majewski and Mlynczyk were “gobsmacked” at the newest development: Simon filing suit against the dead teen’s estate for 1 million dollars for post traumatic stress and emotional damages, claiming that the enjoyment of her life has been “irretrievably lessened,” and saying of the boys:

“They did not apply their brakes properly. They were incompetent bicyclists.”

I have to say that I empathize with the parents almost exclusively in this case. What was already a horrible tragedy is only made worse by the new suit, which they answered with a counter suit for just north of 900,000 dollars. I can’t even begin to imagine what I would do in a situation like this, but it would probably be something incredibly rash. It seems like a particularly exorbitant amount of money and then there’s the obvious: I don’t doubt that Simon’s life is substantially less pleasant now, but at least she has her life, which is more than Brandon Majewski has.