WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
BETHLEHEM, PA
A witness to the fatal 2008 crash between a Bethlehem fire
truck and a convertible testified she's still haunted by the memories of the
motorist's last moments of consciousness.
Amy Hagenbuch testified yesterday morning she was waiting to
turn onto Eighth Avenue from the Lowe's parking lot Oct. 24, 2008 when she saw
a fire truck with its siren blaring heading north. Although the light was about
to turn green for her, she saw the truck cross over the double yellow line to
get around stopped vehicles, so she stayed put in her turning lane, she said.
Hagenbuch testified she looked down at her ringing phone
when she heard a crunch on the roadway. When
she looked up, she saw a convertible had slammed sidelong into the fire truck,
she testified. Two cars, she noted, had
already pulled over to let the fire truck pass.
A former EMT, Hagenbuch rushed to the crash to assist, and
she and a firefighter removed a crumpled door to find William Samer badly
injured inside.
Hagenbuch testified the accident so unsettled her she
visited Samer in the hospital prior to his death, both to pay respects and in
hopes of finding peace of mind. It didn't help, she said, and she later
suffered a nervous breakdown.
"He kept on asking me to help him. He couldn't move his
eyes, he couldn't move his head, but he kept asking me to help him," an
emotional Hagenbuch said of the hospital visit.
He died in the hospital from traumatic brain injuries eight
days after the crash, she said.
A Northampton County jury must now determine whether
Bethlehem and Frank Dashner IV, the firefighter driving the truck, are liable
for Samer's death or whether he caused the fatal wreck by not pulling over.
Attorney Daniel Munley, representing Samer's widow Judith
Samer, is arguing Dashner violated city policy and the law when he steered the
17-ton truck toward southbound traffic. Attorney
Robert Hanna, representing Dashner and the city, claims William Samer violated
the law by not pulling over for an emergency vehicle like the other motorists
did.
Judith Samer testified Tuesday she was reliant on her
husband because of her agoraphobia, a fear of places or situations that will
cause her to panic. She rarely left her home during a seven-year period in her
20s and 30s, and even after decades of therapy she is unable to travel a
mile-and-a-half to have dinner with friends, she said. Her husband, she said,
helped her feel comfortable, interacted with the world on her behalf and gently
pushed her to overcome some of her fears, she said.
"My life disappeared that day," she said of the
accident.
Courtesy LehighValleyLive
We believe that the dead driver should have pulled over like all other drivers did.