BRENTWOOD — An attorney for a Portsmouth man who drove into two women at Hampton Beach in 2014 argued his client was not solely to blame for causing the crash, saying the state and the company it hired to repair the North Beach seawall at the time were also at fault.
Attorney Nicholas Delault spoke during opening statements in a civil suit against his client, Remi Gross-Santos, 21, of Portsmouth. He said Gross-Santos was the only defendant accepting responsibility for his part in causing the crash June 12, 2014. That day, Gross-Santos, who was 17 at the time, fell asleep at the wheel and drove across the road to strike Karen Weinhold and Lisa Beaudry, who sustained serious injuries as a result.
Monday was the beginning of the jury trial in the civil suit filed by Weinhold and her husband, Charles, in Rockingham Superior Court. The defendants also include the state of New Hampshire and the construction company R.S. Audley, Inc. Weinhold's suit claims the state and company also contributed to the crash by directing pedestrians to walk on the west side of Ocean Boulevard, allegedly more dangerous for pedestrians than the east side of the road.
"We're not here to claim there weren't any injuries. There were," Delault said to the jury. "(Gross-Santos) will be the only one in this case acknowledging his role and responsibility this afternoon."
The Weinholds are seeking an undisclosed amount in damages for the crash in their suit. Beaudry filed a similar suit in Rockingham Superior Court, as well, but that case was settled in December, according to the Weinholds' attorney, Scott Harris, and court records.
Gross-Santos left the court without commenting, and his attorney declined to speak as well. Gross-Santos was convicted in June 2015 in a separate criminal trial of second-degree assault and was sentenced in August 2015 to community service hours with a deferred and suspended jail sentence. At the time of the crash, he was driving home after a party in Ipswich, Massachusetts, to a Portsmouth High School graduation rehearsal. He was also charged with drunken driving but found not guilty.
Harris said the jury will determine whether liability is solely placed on Gross-Santos or if the state and R.S. Audley are also liable for causing the crash. He said it is expected at least some liability will be placed on Gross-Santos.
"He's going to get some fault. Whether it's all on him is to be determined," said Harris. "The accident wouldn't have occurred without the contribution of everybody. The question is, how much contribution?"
The crash occurred while R.S. Audley was completing work on the state's seawall at North Beach, a project that was being completed in installments over the course of several years starting in 2006, according to Harris. Weinhold, then 69, and Beaudry, then 60, were walking along the seawall together when they were directed to cross the street by a sign where construction workers were repairing the seawall, he said. They were struck by Gross-Santos' car while they were walking near 13th Street, police have said.
Harris said pedestrians were not directed across the street during construction work on other parts of the seawall in previous years. He said his legal team interviewed crews who worked on the seawall in past years and was told it was never considered necessary to send pedestrians to the other side of the street while construction was ongoing. Pedestrians were instead protected by Jersey barriers and allowed to walk past construction while staying on the east side of Ocean Boulevard, he said.
Weinhold required 76 stitches on her head and suffered hangman's fracture among numerous other injuries throughout her body as a result of the crash, according to Harris.
Harris said the Weinholds' lives were drastically altered by the crash. He said Weinhold, a former teacher, was an active and vibrant woman before the crash. Now, she is frail and requires help from her husband to do simple tasks like blow-dry her hair, Harris said. She suffered damage to her diaphragm and vocal cords, leaving her with a quiet, raspy voice that makes it difficult to communicate in loud places like restaurants or on the telephone, Harris said.
"She's kind of been reduced to insignificance," said Harris. "(Gross-Santos) is willing to be accountable. the state and Audley are not."
Attorneys representing the state and R.S. Audley argued the plan to divert pedestrian traffic across the street was acceptable. They pointed out that people who live in homes along the west side of Ocean
Boulevard walk out of their homes every day and step onto the same pavement where Weinhold and Beaudry were struck. They told jurors the current Hampton police chief, Richard Sawyer, and the chief at the time of the crash, Jamie Sullivan, will both testify during the trial that the west sidewalk is safe.
"(Gross-Santos) made the decision to drive," said attorney Robert Murphy, who represented R.S. Audley. "The traffic control plan didn't make him fall asleep."
Paragraph body