MAHONING COUNTY Women sue officials, residents over accident at intersection

Roadside foliage may have hid the sign, the suit says.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two Edinburg, Pa., women who said they were injured in a collision with a man who ran a stop sign have sued the man, the Mahoning County commissioners and engineer, Springfield Township trustees and three adjacent John Doe property owners.
The county, township and property owners adjacent to the accident scene were named as defendants in the suit, filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, because they allegedly allowed foliage to grow to where it may have partially obstructed approaching motorists' views of the stop sign.
Samantha R. Fry, of Woodview Lane, was driving a motor vehicle eastbound on East Calla Road, with Denise J. Tritt, also of Woodview Lane, as her passenger June 26, 2004. Anthony C. Davanzo Jr. of West Grant Street, Lowellville, who was driving a motor vehicle southbound on State Line Road, ran a stop sign and collided with the vehicle the women occupied, the suit said.
Both women said they experienced pain and suffering, underwent medical treatment and suffered continuing and possibly permanent injuries. Fry and Tritt each seek more than $25,000 in damages.
The suit, which demands a jury trial, was filed by Atty. Joseph P. Sontich Jr. of Boardman, and the case is assigned to Judge Maureen Cronin.
Linette M. Stratford, chief assistant prosecutor in the civil division of the county prosecutor's office, which defends the county and its townships, said she hadn't seen the suit before a reporter brought it to her attention Tuesday, and she declined to comment. Davanzo could not be reached.