Estate of man killed while riding motorized wheelchair files notice to sue Stonington
Stonington — The estate of a Pawcatuck man who died in May after being struck by a car while using his motorized wheelchair along Route 1 has filed a notice to sue the town for having a defective sidewalk that forced him into the road.
According to police, Raymond A. Lanphere, 77, of Sisk Drive was riding along the side of the road near Mayflower Street when he was struck by a car driven by a Pawcatuck woman about 10 a.m. on May 25.
He was flown to Rhode Island Hospital by Life Star helicopter after the collision, but later died. The driver was not charged.
While the spot where Lanphere was struck does have a sidewalks on both sides of the road, the notice to the town filed by Lanphere’s estate and its executor, Lanphere’s daughter, Laurie L. Davis, states the southerly sidewalk in that area was in disrepair forcing him to exit the sidewalk using a driveway apron and into the bike or breakdown lane, where he was struck.
The notice states that section of the sidewalk is uneven and pitted while another area had a dirt depression rather than concrete, making it impossible for Lanphere to travel in his motorized wheelchair. It claims those defects forced Lanphere into the road.
The suit was filed on behalf of the estate by attorney Tracy Collins of the firm Waller, Smith & Palmer in New London.
First Selectman Rob Simmons said the town is sorry for what happened to Lanphere and his family but does not bear responsibility for what occurred.
“We understand we live in a litigious society and people frequently assess blame and seek to recover damages from municipalities when accidents occur,” he said.
Other nearby sections of the road have no sidewalks, and pedestrians have to walk in the street.
Just hours after Lanphere was struck, the Board of Selectmen approved an application to seek $500,000 in state funding to install sidewalks where there are none along a stretch of Route 1 in Pawcatuck from the high school to Pequot Trail.
Selectmen pledged to finally get the sidewalk project completed after it was first proposed more than 15 years ago.
Two large housing projects, Brookside Village and Stonington Arms, are located along the street and two new ones, Spruce Meadows and Spruce Ridge, are slated to open later this year.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
