Teen passenger in speeding car sues driver who was hit

Only in America.  This is obscene.

SALEM -- The driver of a minivan who was seriously injured when she was struck head-on by a drag-racing teenager doing 81 mph is now being sued by the teenager's passenger, who was also injured.

A lawsuit filed yesterday in Salem Superior Court suggests that Christine Speliotis "carelessly and negligent (sic) failed to avoid the collision with the other vehicle head on."

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[The driver] Timothy Pereira, 19, of Salem is out on bail awaiting trial on charges that include racing, speeding, driving to endanger and failing to stay within marked lanes.

Investigators from the Salem and state police concluded that Timothy Pereira was going 81 mph on Fort Avenue, a road with a 30 mph speed limit, when he lost control, veering across the center lines and into the path of a Honda Odyssey minivan.

Speliotis, 42, of Salem, and her passenger, Stanley Swaczyk, 50, of Marblehead, suffered broken bones and other injuries. Police said Speliotis was traveling at a reasonable speed for the road, and she was not charged with any wrongdoing.

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Speliotis had already filed a lawsuit against Timothy Pereira in April, seeking damages of at least $88,000 for medical bills and other expenses. She suffered a fractured hip and leg and had to undergo surgery to insert metal rods and screws to repair the damage.

In a formal response to the suit, a lawyer for Timothy Pereira also raised the suggestion that Speliotis' "own negligence caused or contributed to any injuries that the plaintiff may have suffered as alleged in the complaint."