Woman struck by Lynch vehicle hires personal injury attorneys
Woman hit by Lynch's car may sue over injuries
The woman who was struck down by Marshawn Lynch’s Porsche SUV last month has hired two top personal injury attorneys to represent her in a possible lawsuit against the Buffalo Bills running back.
And one of the attorneys, Timothy G. O’Connell of Buffalo, said the injuries Kimberley Shpeley suffered are worse than have been characterized by police and other public officials.
“It’s not as minor as it has been reported,” O’Connell told The Buffalo News. “She’s under the active care of several different physicians for injuries to several different parts of her body. She’s still under medical care.”
O’Connell declined to give any more specifics about his client’s injuries, and he said no decision has been made on whether Shpeley will file a lawsuit against Lynch.
But the attorney noted that, under New York State law, the owner of a motor vehicle can be held liable for damages or injuries caused by the vehicle, even if someone else — other than a thief — is driving the vehicle.
“We have begun conducting our own investigation into this incident,” O’Connell said. “Quite clearly, things are not going well in the police investigation.”
O’Connell said Shpeley is single, employed and “a very sweet person” who does not follow professional football.
“She never heard of Marshawn Lynch before this incident, and in fact, she had no idea who he was until she started hearing about him in the news media,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell’s comments came one day after Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark’s office issued grand jury subpoenas for three Bills players.
Authorities said the subpoenas — directing the men to appear before a grand jury investigating the incident — were issued after Buffalo Police became extremely frustrated over an alleged lack of cooperation from Lynch, several other players and the Bills organization.
Police believe some players and team officials know more than they are telling about the night of the accident.
Shpeley, 27, of Milton, Ont., was struck and injured by Lynch’s sport utility vehicle as she crossed Delaware Avenue in the Chippewa Street entertainment district in downtown Buffalo. Eyewitnesses told police the car that struck her was Lynch’s Porsche, which was later impounded by officers at his home in the Town of Hamburg.
The 22-year-old running back, one of the National Football League’s top rookies last season, has not talked about the incident.
Law enforcement officials have said Shpeley suffered two large bruises near her hip and cuts that required seven stitches.
Shpeley has declined to comment on the incident, referring a reporter’s questions to O’Connell, a partner in the personal injury department of the Siegel, Kelleher & Kahn law firm, who now represents her.
O’Connell is a past president of the Western New York chapter of the State Trial Lawyers Association. Shpeley also is represented by Gary Pillesdorf of Manhattan, the past president of the statewide trial lawyers organization.
O’Connell said he has handled “well over 100” hit-and-run cases in his 23-year law career and is “very familiar” with the procedures involved in filing lawsuits in such cases.
He declined to comment when asked whether Shpeley is upset with Lynch for refusing to talk with police about the hit-and- run. Lynch’s attorney, Michael P. Caffery, has spoken with police but not in detail.
Caffery and Bills officials insist that they have been cooperative with investigators.
“Nobody is ever pleased to have such a situation befall them,” O’Connell said. “It’s been difficult for her, not only the incident but all the media attention.”
Suggestions of some callers to local radio talk shows that Shpeley was responsible for the accident and that she staged it to seek money from a lawsuit are “scurrilous,” O’Connell said.
“Based upon my investigation to date, she handled herself entirely within the law,” O’Connell said. “People who weren’t there and don’t know what happened should keep those opinions to themselves.”
Police officials close to the investigation also told The News they have found no evidence that would indicate that Shpeley was at fault in any way.
“She was crossing the street legally, at the light, and she had the right of way,” said one official who is familiar with the investigation. “The car hit her and took off. Whoever was driving the car should have stopped.”
O’Connell said Shpeley has been incorrectly referred to in media reports as Kelly Shpeley.
News staff reporter Gene Warner assisted on this story. dherbeck@buffnews.com
