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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 3, 2005 Man injured in crash sues drunk driver’s estate Thatcher-Stevens’ estate also faces wrongful-death suit from family of Shady Cove man By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A Medford man injured in February’s high-speed collision with drunken driver Kevan Thatcher-Stephens will take the Ashland teen’s estate to court in June. A personal injury lawsuit filed by Mark Louis Robustelli is scheduled for trial in Jackson County Circuit Court on June 20, 2006. Robustelli, 28, is seeking a judgment of more than $2.5 million against Thatcher-Stephens’ estate for the Feb. 11 crash that left him critically injured and killed 26-year-old Charles Ashley Bench of Shady Cove. Thatcher-Stephens, 17, also died. Trying to outrun police on Medford’s Riverside Avenue, Thatcher-Stephens sped through the red light at Jackson Street at about 9:30 p.m. His Jeep Cherokee smashed into Bench’s Chevrolet Blazer with enough force to hurl it more than 100 feet across the intersection. Police investigators said the teen was driving 102 mph with a blood-alcohol level approximately twice the legal limit of .08 for those of drinking age. The crash impact shattered Robustelli’s left leg between the knee and ankle. After rescue workers cut Robustelli from the wreckage, he received multiple units of blood and spent several weeks recovering at Providence Medford Medical Center. Advertisement Bench’s family also is suing Thatcher-Stephens’ estate for $5.5 million, alleging the teen wrongfully caused Bench’s death. Like Robustelli’s suit, it does not name Thatcher-Stephens’ parents as defendants. Michael Brian, attorney for the Bench family, said he plans to look at whether other people are legally responsible for the wreck. A four-month police investigation yielded no criminal charges as several Ashland teens refused to testify before a grand jury on the source of alcohol that Thatcher-Stephens consumed. Police also could not gain cooperation from Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Orf and her husband, defense attorney David Orf, whose teenage son, Drew, threw parties at their Ashland home where alcohol was consumed while the Orfs were in Mexico. Detectives could not place Thatcher-Stephens drinking at the Orf home the night of the crash. But police reports indicated his mother, Patrice Thatcher, told police she heard from several of her son’s friends that he had been drinking at the Orfs’ house after leaving her home the evening of Feb. 11. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail Man injured in crash sues drunk driver�s estate ">[email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Distance Education www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Helzberg Diamonds Computer Security Casino Gambling Sites Cheap Website Templates Budget Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Memory Foam Mattress Diamonds Online Poker Home Equity Loans Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Advertisement s