Drunk Driver sues drunk driver, who then sues sober driver

[King Ghidorah]

In a highly unusual case, a drunken driver who was struck by another drunk driver is suing that driver for $1.6 million.

Sarah Grace Anderson had a blood alcohol content of .11 percent when Nathan William Wisbeck,who had a blood alcohol content of .19 percent, ran through a stop sign in Southeast Portland and struck Anderson's minivan at about 2 a.m. on May 26, 2013. The legal limit for driving is .08 percent.

Anderson, 29, suffered some broken bones and other injuries. Her passenger, Stephen Alan Person, died. He was 28.

The suit, which was filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court by Portland attorney Ryan Hilts, doesn’t mention that Anderson was intoxicated -- although the suit does correctly state that Anderson had the right-of-way. She pleaded no contest last year to driving under the influence of intoxicants, and was allowed to enter a diversion program.

In an added twist, Anderson is also suing a sober driver, Sapearya Sao, whose Toyota Corolla had been struck by Wisbeck a minute or so before she was struck. Sao called 9-1-1, reported Wisbeck’s license plate and chased Wisbeck for about a mile -- even though a 9-1-1 dispatcher told Sao to stop chasing Wisbeck, according to a defense attorney and the lawsuit. But Sao, then 25, remained hot in pursuit of Wisbeck.

Wisbeck, then 26, later told authorities that he was speeding -- police say 50 mph in a 25 mph zone -- because he wanted to get away from Sao. As Wisbeck’s GMC Sierra truck blasted through a stop sign at Southeast 20th and Madison Street,he struck Anderson’s Ford Windstar.

Wisbeck also suffered injuries -- including a black eye -- in the second crash. But most of his wounds were sustained as he sat in his wrecked truck and three men walked up to him and punched him more than 10 times in the head, according to witnesses.

Wisbeck was sentenced in January to 7 ½ years in prison, and his driver’s license was revoked for life. He pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault, hit-and-run driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants.

During the January hearing, Wisbeck apologized and said he wakes up every morning in shame because of what he did. He also listened to seven relatives and friends of Person speak about their loss.

Among those who spoke was Anderson. Anderson said she struggled to find an answer “in facing death with someone and then being allowed to live. ...I don’t know why, why did I live?”

She said although it felt trivial to talk about it, she lost her job and her health insurance.

Anderson also is suing Sassy’s Bar & Grill and the Triple Nickel Pub, where Wisbeck had been drinking before the crash. The suit faults employees at both establishments for allegedly serving Wisbeck when he was visibly intoxicated, which if found to be true, is a violation of Oregon law. The suit also faults the bars for allegedly failing to stop Wisbeck from driving off in his truck while drunk.

Anderson’s suit seeks $100,000 for her medical expenses, and $1.5 million for her pain and suffering.

www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/03/drunken_driver_sues_other_drun.html

[Lancers]

You gotta give to Ghidorah. He doesn't tease you with the thread title. He gets straight to the point.

[Dr. T is an alien]

I at first wondered if the city or county also could not have been sued, but looking at the map where the intersection in question is located made me think twice. I used to spend my summers in the St. Johns region of town and found driving there terrifying because all of the side streets had their street signs, including stop signs, stolen not long after they were put up. Therefore, there were no indications who had right of way and who actually had to stop at many intersections, but the intersection in question was in a nicer part of town and that is not likely to have been the case.

Then again, I also recall that stop signs were simply suggestions in the nice parts of town as well. Mind you, these memories are all 20 years old now, so what do I know?