PORT CLYDE, Maine — Mediation will be held within the next few months to try to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a 9-year-old boy who was killed more than two years ago when a car driven by a New York City woman slammed into people waiting on the wharf at Port Clyde for a ferry to Monhegan.
The attorney for Howard Gold and his family of Cohasset, Massachusetts, filed a notice this week in Knox County Unified Court asking for a 90-day stay on any additional motions being submitted by the parties.
“This would enable the parties to focus their initial efforts at pursuing a voluntary resolution of this matter without the necessity of defendants being compelled to file responsive pleadings,” the motion by attorney Kevin Libby of Portland stated.
Justice Daniel Billings agreed to the 90-day stay.
The Golds filed their lawsuit Aug. 10 against Cheryl Torgerson of New York City, the Monhegan-Thomaston Boat Line in Port Clyde, and James and Judith Barstow of St. George, who own the property where the fatal crash occurred on Aug. 11, 2013.
The parties will select a mediator who will then work with them in an effort to reach a settlement without the case having to continue through the court process.
The lawsuit does not state a specific dollar amount being sought in damages but points out that in addition to medical expenses, the family members suffered emotional distress from being struck by the vehicle and witnessing the crash that claimed the life of 9-year-old Dylan Gold.
Dylan Gold’s mother, Allison Gold, and his brother, Wyatt Gold, who was 6 years old at the time, also were injured in the crash.
Allison Gold suffered multiple pelvic fractures, a perforated bladder and considerable internal bleeding. She spent two weeks at Maine Medical Center in Portland and another two weeks at a rehabilitation facility in Massachusetts. Wyatt Gold was released from the hospital a few days after the crash.
Also injured in that crash was Jonathan Coggeshall, 70, of Port Clyde, who suffered a serious hip injury.
The Golds’ lawsuit states that Torgerson, 63, was negligent in driving her 2007 Infiniti sedan when it struck the Gold family.
The lawsuit also claims that the Monhegan-Thomaston boat line was negligent in failing to erect barriers and gates and failing to safely channel the mix of vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the wharf where the crash occurred.
Torgerson was not criminally charged as a result of the crash. Police had received reports of a car matching the description of Torgerson’s Infiniti speeding on several occasions along the coast in the hours leading up to the crash.
But District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said in February 2014 that there was insufficient evidence to show that she acted in a criminally negligent manner.
Investigators determined that at about 2:30 p.m. that day, Torgerson stopped her sedan on a downgrade to the wharf while heading to catch the 3 p.m. ferry to Monhegan Island.
She was stopped behind a sport utility vehicle, whose driver was talking to a parking attendant, when her car suddenly accelerated as if the pedal was stuck to the floor or jammed, Torgerson told investigators. Torgerson’s car struck the sport utility vehicle and then her car sped up, struck a building and the pedestrians. Her recollection after the sudden acceleration was a blur, according to officers.
A blood test showed that Torgerson had no alcohol in her system, and officers saw no signs of illness or that the driver was under the influence of any substances at the time, the district attorney said last year when he announced that no charges would be filed.
A Maine State Police accident reconstructionist examined the sedan and found no mechanical problems.