Dereka_k
03-21-2005, 04:54 AM
Woman hit by traffic cone seeks settlement with W. Chester Twp.
Police release report on incident involving former administrator
By Janice Morse
Enquirer staff writer
WEST CHESTER TWP. - An attorney says he will try to reach an out-of-court settlement with township trustees and with Dave Gully, the former township administrator accused of striking a woman with a rubber traffic cone as she left a rally for President Bush last fall.
Jack Garretson, who represents Susan Kelch, 49, of Liberty Township, said his client wants to avoid filing a civil lawsuit.
"Susan doesn't really want to be involved in litigation unless they take a stand that they won't negotiate in good faith," Garretson said Wednesday after reviewing a just-released 35-page police investigation of the incident.
Garretson and Kelch say Gully threw the cone as Kelch left the rally at Voice of America Park on Sept. 27, striking Kelch in the neck and upper back. Kelch has suffered pain in her head, neck and back as a result, Garretson said.
Attorney Mike Fulton declined to comment Wednesday on behalf of Gully, who has resigned his West Chester job to become administrator in Warren County's Deerfield Township.
Garretson said he plans to present a settlement demand to township trustees and to Gully's lawyers after Kelch's doctor completes a formal report about her injuries. The doctor's report likely will be ready in a month, Garretson said.
Some witness statements seem to support contentions that Gully threw the cone because he lost his temper, Garretson said.
The man who threw the cone "seemed very angry and wanted to get their attention," witness Patti Callon told police.
Gully, who has not been criminally charged, is not named in the investigative documents. Ohio law says names of uncharged suspects are exempt from public disclosure, and police routinely use black marker to redact those names from reports.
A police summary says a man, whose name was redacted, admitted throwing the cone and gave this account:
He did not intend to hit anyone. Rather, the man said he was trying to protect pedestrians from cars as they walked across an access road.
The man threw the cone "to deter any vehicles from proceeding (toward) the ladies." He thought they were far enough ahead that the cone wouldn't reach them, but "the cone went higher and farther than he expected."
Kelch's friend, Nancy Gaffney, told police she heard a man yelling, "get off the road" before the cone hit Kelch.
When Gaffney confronted the man, "he was very apologetic and said he wanted us to get out of the way - off the road," Gaffney said. "But I told him there were others in the road and no cars."
Police release report on incident involving former administrator
By Janice Morse
Enquirer staff writer
WEST CHESTER TWP. - An attorney says he will try to reach an out-of-court settlement with township trustees and with Dave Gully, the former township administrator accused of striking a woman with a rubber traffic cone as she left a rally for President Bush last fall.
Jack Garretson, who represents Susan Kelch, 49, of Liberty Township, said his client wants to avoid filing a civil lawsuit.
"Susan doesn't really want to be involved in litigation unless they take a stand that they won't negotiate in good faith," Garretson said Wednesday after reviewing a just-released 35-page police investigation of the incident.
Garretson and Kelch say Gully threw the cone as Kelch left the rally at Voice of America Park on Sept. 27, striking Kelch in the neck and upper back. Kelch has suffered pain in her head, neck and back as a result, Garretson said.
Attorney Mike Fulton declined to comment Wednesday on behalf of Gully, who has resigned his West Chester job to become administrator in Warren County's Deerfield Township.
Garretson said he plans to present a settlement demand to township trustees and to Gully's lawyers after Kelch's doctor completes a formal report about her injuries. The doctor's report likely will be ready in a month, Garretson said.
Some witness statements seem to support contentions that Gully threw the cone because he lost his temper, Garretson said.
The man who threw the cone "seemed very angry and wanted to get their attention," witness Patti Callon told police.
Gully, who has not been criminally charged, is not named in the investigative documents. Ohio law says names of uncharged suspects are exempt from public disclosure, and police routinely use black marker to redact those names from reports.
A police summary says a man, whose name was redacted, admitted throwing the cone and gave this account:
He did not intend to hit anyone. Rather, the man said he was trying to protect pedestrians from cars as they walked across an access road.
The man threw the cone "to deter any vehicles from proceeding (toward) the ladies." He thought they were far enough ahead that the cone wouldn't reach them, but "the cone went higher and farther than he expected."
Kelch's friend, Nancy Gaffney, told police she heard a man yelling, "get off the road" before the cone hit Kelch.
When Gaffney confronted the man, "he was very apologetic and said he wanted us to get out of the way - off the road," Gaffney said. "But I told him there were others in the road and no cars."