Woman hit by DUI driver files civil suit

A Ruffsdale woman struck by a drunken driver two years ago filed the basis of her civil suit against the man, his employer, the bar that served him liquor and several others.

Dana Koshinsky was thrown 50 feet in the March 23, 2002, accident along state Route 3089 in East Huntingdon Township. She suffered a head injury and broken bones, and she continues to incur thousands of dollars in medical bills, said James Falcon, her attorney. She and her husband are seeking an unspecified amount in excess of $30,000 in damages in the 37-count lawsuit.

Koshinsky filed notice of her intent to sue earlier this year but didn't file the basis of the suit until recently.

Named as defendants were Scott A. Gramlich, the driver who struck her; Menasha, his employer; the East Huntingdon Volunteer Fireman's Club; and a rental car company.

Robert T. Kelly, the man Koshinsky was riding with prior to the accident; the Double C Bar, where he allegedly was served liquor; and Anthony R. Henry, a man who stopped to assist Kelly and Koshinsky, also were named as defendants.

Gramlich pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and drunken driving in the incident, and he spent nearly seven months in jail.

According to police, Gramlich's blood-alcohol content was 0.17 percent, above the legal limit of 0.10 percent. Pennsylvania's legal limit since has been lowered to 0.08 percent.

Koshinsky's suit states that the fireman's club should not have served Gramlich, a man known "to have been a person of intemperate habits and/or an habitual drunkard."

Gramlich previously had been arrested on charges of drunken driving.

Kelly also was arrested after the accident, but he successfully completed a program for first-time offenders.

He was sued because he had stopped his vehicle in the oncoming lane of traffic, where Henry stopped as well. Koshinsky had exited Kelly's truck and was standing between the vehicles of Kelly and Henry when Gramlich's truck, rented for him by Menasha, according to the complaint, struck the vehicles and threw Koshinsky.

Falcon did not return a phone call seeking comment.

A Menasha representative could not be reached for comment.