Town to Fight $825K in Damages From '07 Crash

The Town/Village of Harrison intends to fight a jury's decision to award $825,000 in damages to a Harrison woman injured during a 2007 crash with a Harrison Fire Department SUV, said town attorney Frank Allegretti.

Henry Mohr, a former Harrison fire chief and volunteer firemen, struck Sandra Fugazi's vehicle on June 21, 2007, while rushing down Harrison Avenue responding to an accident on the Hutchinson River Parkway. Fugazi had the green light at the Union Avenue intersection when she was struck by Mohr, who was speeding.

The jury found Mohr and the town liable for the accident Wednesday before awarding the $825,000 in damages on Friday. 

Allegretti said the town will ask state Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler to vacate the jury's decision. If that is denied, he said the town plans to appeal.

"I think the damages that the jury awarded was quite staggering," said Allegretti, adding that Fugazi suffered mostly soft tissue damage in the crash and didn't sustain major physical injuries.

Fugazi's attorney Daniel A. Thomas told Lohud.com this week that his client suffered injuries to her neck and has had to reduce her activities since the accident. 

"I think justice was done," he told the newspaper. "I think the most important lesson is that first responders, no matter how noble their intentions, are still required to exercise care in responding to an emergency."

Mohr was traveling about 60 mph through a red light when he struck Fugazi's vehicle. The woman's vehicle was damaged on the front end. The Harrison Fire Department SUV Mohr was driving flipped during the accident, but he didn't suffer any major injuries.

The town has 30 days to appeal the decision.

"There's a whole host of issues that arose during both the liability phase and the damage phase," Allegretti said. "It's nowhere near, within the realm of reasonableness, what awards for this type of injury have come down with."