Friday, April 19, 2013

Wrongful death lawsuit starts Tuesday

School District being sued for death of Carey student

By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

    A jury trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Blaine County School District.
    The lawsuit was filed in 2011 by a Carey couple, Dennis and Maryann Hennefer, regarding the death of their son, 15-year-old Austin Hennefer, in a vehicle accident on Oct. 26, 2010 on U.S. Highway 20 about two miles west of Timmerman Junction. Austin Hennefer was driving a Carey School driver education car when it was struck by a vehicle driven by Sergio Lopez-Rodriguez, of Gooding.
    The Hennefers allege in their complaint that the School District and driving instructor Jeffrey A. Mecham were negligent in having Austin Hennefer perform a three-point turn on the highway while it was covered with ice and there was low visibility. Lopez-Rodriguez is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, with the Hennefers claiming that he was driving too fast for road conditions.
    Mecham was also originally named as a defendant, but was later removed from the lawsuit as an individual.
    The Hennefers are seeking unspecified damages in excess of $10,000.
    The trial, to be held in Blaine County 5th District Court with Judge Robert J. Elgee presiding, is scheduled to last eight days.

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
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