THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 30, 1995 TAG: 9509300272
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
The mother of a 14-year-old Chesapeake girl who died after the Jeep she was riding in overturned has sued the Portsmouth woman accused of causing the accident.
Irene M. Erickson, mother of Jennifer Marie Erickson, filed the $2.35 million suit this week in Portsmouth Circuit Court against Irma C. Ziehr.
Police say Ziehr, 25, rammed her car into the back of the 1994 Jeep on the Western Freeway Aug. 20, causing it to crash. She has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jennifer Erickson's death.
The lawsuit also names the driver of the Jeep, Wendy Zavala of Portsmouth, as a defendant.
Police said that on the day of the accident Ziehr went to a swimming pool in Chesapeake where her estranged husband was working. She saw his Jeep being driven by Zavala, who was leaving the pool. Jennifer Erickson was a passenger in the Jeep.
Ziehr followed the Jeep in a 1994 Ford Escort, police said.
The pursuit ended on the Western Freeway near the overpass at Town Point Road when Ziehr rammed the Jeep twice, causing Zavala to lose control, police said. The Jeep hit a guard rail, overturned and rolled several times, pinning both occupants inside.
Erickson died at the scene. Zavala suffered minor injuries.
The lawsuit alleges that Ziehr drove ``recklessly, carelessly and negligently'' and exceeded speeds of 95 mph.
The suit claims that Zavala was ``negligent'' because she did not keep a proper lookout, did not apply her brakes in time, failed to control the vehicle and was ``grossly reckless.''
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY by CNB