BOARDMAN In pedestrian suit, judge rules in victim's favor

The injured woman was active in all sorts of community and school events.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- On a bitterly cold day in December 1996, Debra Hinkle of Boardman and two friends were looking for a way to warm up before a community Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Boardman Park.
As they were walking to a nearby coffee shop, Hinkle was hit by a car. She suffered, among other things, a severe brain injury.
The driver, Julie A. Downie of Millcreek Drive, had just picked up her son and a friend who'd helped decorate the tree.
Hinkle and the other women, Elaine Mancini and Barbara Barsch, had helped plan the holiday events.
It was one of many community and school-related activities Hinkle had spearheaded in Boardman.
"This was a very dynamic, involved person in the community," said Mancini, a township trustee. Barsch was a school board member.
Hinkle and her husband, David, sued Downie in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in December 1998.
Judge's ruling: A trial was last week before Judge Jack Durkin, who ruled in the couple's favor Tuesday. He awarded Mrs. Hinkle $744,546 in damages and money to cover her medical expenses.
Mr. Hinkle was awarded $135,000 for loss of consortium.
The amounts were actually higher, but Judge Durkin reduced them by 10 percent because he found that Mrs. Hinkle was partly at fault for walking on the wrong side of the road.
Downie's attorney, Craig Pelini of North Canton, could not be reached.
In court, Downie said she was distracted because she was talking to the children and because the sun was glaring through her windshield, preventing her from seeing Hinkle.
Results of injury: The injury has left Mrs. Hinkle, 41, with psychological problems, including memory loss and the inability to organize, said her attorney, Denio Leone of Cleveland.
She can no longer do some of the things she did before the accident.
"It's a complicated, complicated injury," Leone said. He credited Judge Durkin for his "very deep and honest evaluation of the evidence."
Because there was no jury, the ruling was left to Judge Durkin, who said it was the first time he had to make such a decision.
The experience gave him a new appreciation for the role of jurors and was one of the hardest decisions he has made while on the bench, he said.
"How do you put a value on someone's memory?" he said.