Estate of Coumbassa v. Hickle, 2023 WL 8234445, 2023-Ohio-4292 (Ohio App. Nov. 28, 2023)

A fantastic set of facts saw a lower court’s ruling affirmed by the appellate court when a motorist/decedent, whose actions were interpreted as “intentional” and could ultimately have been suicidal, created two collisions with tractor trailers while traveling eastbound on I-70 East in Columbus, Ohio. The facts suggest the decedent first maneuvered his vehicle in front of the first tractor-trailer, causing the tractor-trailer to hit the decedent’s vehicle and disabling it on the roadway. The second tractor-trailer, driven by Hickle, saw the stopped accident, slowed to 30-miles per hour, and slowly proceeded around the wreck when the decedent, now on foot, ran towards Hickle who swerved and then felt the thud of the decedent running into the side of the trailer. The court sustained the finding that Hickle had met the burden of establishing no genuine issue of material fact and the Estate failed to raise triable issues of fact in opposition.