SYCAMORE – The father of 16-year-old Sycamore resident Morgan Witmer has filed a personal injury lawsuit against 17-year-old Connor Shaver, the driver in the crash that left Morgan Witmer seriously injured.
Mel Witmer Jr. filed the suit Dec. 31 in DeKalb County Circuit Court seeking more than $50,000. The suit names Connor Shaver and his father, Todd Shaver, the owner of the 2004 Nissan 350Z coupe Connor Shaver was driving during the Oct. 27 crash.
Sean Houlihan, the Witmers’ attorney, acknowledged the driver’s age, but said it didn’t override the law allowing the Witmers to recover damages.
“He’s a kid who was negligent, and he caused great bodily harm to his passenger,” Houlihan said. “We’re not looking to be punitive. He should be held accountable for his actions and the harm that he caused.”
On Oct. 27, Morgan Witmer and Connor Shaver decided to drive to Kishwaukee Education Consortium for class rather than take the school-provided bus. Connor Shaver was driving west on Rich Road when he reached 110 mph in a 55 mph zone. He lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle swerved off the road, hit a utility pole, and then rolled over several times, police said.
Morgan Witmer was airlifted from the scene to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford in critical condition. She suffered a fractured neck, collapsed lungs and three broken ribs on each side of her rib cage. She also bruised a spinal ligament, leaving her partially paralyzed on her left side after the crash.
After spending time in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Morgan Witmer was transferred home where she continues to improve and perform outpatient therapy.
Mel Witmer Jr. said the medical bills he’s received so far total more than $500,000. He said a lawsuit was the unfortunate next step with medical bills still arriving in the mail and uncertainties about how the two teenagers’ insurance companies would cover the expenses.
“The situation sets in, and you think about what’s at stake,” Mel Witmer Jr. said. “The hospitals, the helicopters, the therapy, who’s going to pay for that?”
Sycamore School District 427 is named in the suit as a respondent-in-discovery, because the students were traveling from the high school to Kishwaukee Education Consortium at the time of the crash. Houlihan said the school district is not being sued, but he would like to review the policy allowing students to use their own transportation to KEC instead of being transported by district-provided buses.
Superintendent Kathy Countryman said the district has a policy in place for KEC students, which includes providing a bus. She did not know if the policy allowed for students to drive themselves.
Shaver also faces criminal charges stemming from the crash. Prosecutors charged Shaver with aggravated reckless driving and aggravated speeding more than 35 mph. He is being prosecuted as an adult. That case is scheduled for a status hearing Jan. 26.
Todd Shaver declined to comment.