By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
YACHATS — Lawyers for two people involved in a January collision with a Yachats ambulance have notified the nonprofit ambulance company and the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District they intend to sue one or both organizations.
The notices were not unexpected.
Kelsey R. Seibel, 25, of Waldport died and Fokus Simmons, 16, of Waldport, was severely injured Jan. 11 when her northbound car ran into the side of the South Lincoln Ambulance as it was leaving the fire district station and pulling onto U.S. Highway 101 on the north edge of Yachats.
Under a contract between the two organizations, the ambulance is staffed by Yachats fire district firefighter/paramedics.
People intending to sue local governments or state agencies are required by law to file what is called a “tort claim notice” and request that the potential defendants preserve all potential evidence, including electronic communications. Seibel’s lawyers also requested that the damaged ambulance – which was returned to the fire station in late January – also be preserved and no repairs to damage take place.
The tort claims were mentioned briefly at the Yachats fire district’s board meeting last week, but neither fire district administrator Frankie Petrick nor assistant administrator Shelby Knife laid out any details or talked about how the organization or insurance companies might handle any lawsuits. Both Petrick and Knife are fire district employees but also officers of the nonprofit ambulance company, which has a five-member board.
Seibel’s mother, Heide A. Stocker of Waldport, has gone to court to be named the personal representative of Seibel’s estate. Seibel has two young sons.
Simmons, a sophomore at Waldport High, suffered a traumatic brain injury and remains at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.
Stocker is represented by attorneys at Yaquina Law in Newport. Simmons is represented by attorneys from Idiart Law Group of Central Point, Ore.
Letters from both law groups to the fire district and ambulance company said they intend to sue one or both for damages.
“While we are awaiting police reports, our current understanding is that the ambulance pulled directly into Ms. Seibel’s lane of travel, causing a broadside collision,” the letter from Yaquina Law attorney Traci McDowall said.
The accident occurred at 5:16 p.m. Jan. 11 as the ambulance was responding to a priority call at Sea Aire Assisted Living Center just to the south of the Yachats fire station.
Seibel died at the scene. Simmons was taken to the hospital in Corvallis. Oregon State Police said neither were wearing seatbelts and Seibel’s Kia Soul’s airbags did not deploy.
The wreck and its aftermath shaken much of the Waldport community and Waldport High School, where Simmons is a sophomore.
Simmons was a member of the boy’s jayvee basketball team this season and last fall was a linebacker and offensive lineman on the varsity football team. The school’s athletic booster club has been holding fundraisers during events to help defray his mother’s costs while staying in Corvallis to oversee his recovery.
Simmons family posted on Facebook last week that he is not in a coma but in a state of reduced consciousness, has squeezed his mother’s hand and wiggles his toes and fingers when asked.
Seibel’s sister-in-law has organized GoFundMe campaign to help her family and two young sons, ages 5 and 4.
South Lincoln Ambulance holds one of five five-year contracts with Lincoln County to provide 9-1-1 emergency ambulance service in the Yachats fire district, which runs from the south edge of Waldport, through Yachats, up the Yachats River valley and south past Cape Perpetua. Pacific West Ambulance, a for-profit company based in Hillsboro, provides ambulance service for the rest of the county.
It’s a very sad situation. No seat belts? I’ve been ticketed for not wearing mine when mandatory in California. We are lucky to have the few services we have in this community. I hope the legal stuff doesn’t cause us to loose the station or raise our taxes. I am sympathetic to both sides.