Court upholds dismissal of suit

There is no evidence of intentional wrongdoing, the appeals court rules.

YOUNGSTOWN — A three-judge panel of the Seventh District Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld a trial judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged intentional wrongdoing by Mahoning County officials and a county truck driver when a county laborer was killed by being pinned between two dump trucks.

The lawsuit was filed by Robert E. Tablack, administrator of the estate of Edward J. Popovich, 50, of Struthers, a laborer with the county engineer’s office, who was filling potholes on Sharrott Road near state Route 165 in Beaver Township when he was fatally injured April 5, 2005.

Listed as defendants in that lawsuit, which was filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, were the county commissioners, county Engineer Richard A. Marsico, and Michael A. Cvengros, driver of the truck that was going about 5 mph when it hit Popovich from behind.

Judge Timothy E. Franken dismissed the case without a trial, saying Popovich’s death was unintentional and accidental.

Cvengros, 61, of Campbell, also a laborer with the county engineer’s office, told state troopers his foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal.

“Tablack has failed to demonstrate that either Mahoning County or Cvengros had a specific intent to injure him or that either defendant was substantially certain that an injury would occur if Popovich was exposed to the dangerous condition,” the appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The dump truck Cvengros drove was a “shadow vehicle” with warning devices that followed the work crew to protect that crew from approaching traffic. The dump truck in front of Popovich contained the pothole patching material.

The appeals court decision was written by Judge Mary DeGenaro, with Judges Gene Donofrio and Cheryl L. Waite concurring.