YOUNGSTOWN — Two more lawsuits have been filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court regarding a June 24, 2023, Coitsville crash involving a car and two motorcycles that killed a passenger on one of the motorcycles.

Each of the lawsuits and a cross claim allege negligence on the part of at least one of the other drivers.

Paul Halfelder of Austintown filed one of the suits May 22 against Gloria J. Dothard of Struthers-Coitsville Road in Lowellville, the driver of the car.

Another lawsuit was filed Monday by Harold Hagerty III of Youngstown, a driver of one of the motorcycles, against Dothard and Paul W. Halfelder of Austintown, driver of the other motorcycle. Also named as a defendant is State Farm Insurance.

The first lawsuit was filed May 15 by Carla R. Paris of Youngstown, administrator of the estate of Patricia A. Hagerty, the woman who was killed. It named as defendants Dothard and Harold Hagerty III, who was Patricia A. Hagerty’s husband.

Patricia A. Hagerty, 56, of Youngstown was killed while riding as a passenger on a Can-Am Spyder, a three-wheeled motorcycle being driven by her husband, Harold Hagerty III, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which investigated the accident.

The Hagertys were traveling north on state Route 616 in Coitsville Township with motorcyclist Halfelder, then 56, of Austintown, riding a Kawasaki Vulcan in front of them, the patrol stated.

Dothard, then 65, was traveling south on Route 616 and turned left in front of the motorcyclists while turning into a driveway between Cooper Road and Walker Drive, the patrol stated. It led to the three people on the two motorcycles crashing and suffering injuries, including Patricia Hagerty, who died Oct. 30, 2023.

Dothard’s vehicle did not come into contact with the motorcycles, and Dothard was not injured, according to the patrol. Halfelder took evasive action to avoid Dothard’s vehicle but did not come into contact with it, the patrol stated. Patricia Hagerty was flown to the hospital with critical injuries. She died at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office said.

The motorcyclists were taking part in the ninth annual Teddy Foltz Poker Run fundraiser to support the Teddy Foltz Memorial Fund.

Dothard was charged with failure to yield on a left turn and was convicted in August 2023 of a minor misdemeanor taillight violation, according to Campbell Municipal Court records.

Acting Judge Miriam Ocasio later filed an entry in the case saying she was “never informed of the extent of the accident or that there was a victim involved.” She tried to get the parties in the case to return to the court to discuss the matter further because she would not have approved the plea agreement if she had known someone was seriously injured, she stated in the docket entry.

Ocasio’s attempts to revisit the case did not result in any change in its outcome, according to court records.

FIRST LAWSUIT

Paris’ lawsuit, which was amended May 21 alleges that Dothard “negligently made a sudden left turn in front of Halfelder’s motorcycle.”

It alleges that Halfelder “then negligently turned his motorcycle to the right, towards the back of the Dothard vehicle, instead of left to avoid it completely.”

It also alleges that Hagerty “negligently failed to maintain an assured clear distance and crashed into Halfelder’s motorcycle, causing (Patricia Hagerty) to be ejected from Hagerty’s motorcycle and onto the roadway.”

SECOND LAWSUIT

Halfelder’s May 22 lawsuit alleges that Dothard “failed to exercise ordinary care and was negligent when she failed to yield the right of way to (Halfelder) when turning left, causing (Halfelder) to crash his motorcycle.”

The suit states that Halfelder suffered permanent injuries. He seeks in excess of $25,000 in damages against Dothard.

THIRD LAWSUIT

The lawsuit Harold Hagerty III filed Monday alleges that Dothard was negligent when she turned left into a private driveway in front of him, “causing a collision with (Harold Hagerty’s) vehicle.”

The suit states that Harold Hagerty “suffered past and future economic and noneconomic damages.” It states that Harold Hagerty “was operating his motorcycle lawfully and prudently.”

It alleges that Halfelder “negligently operated his vehicle causing a collision with (Hagerty’s) vehicle.”

The lawsuit seeks damages of at least $25,000 “jointly and severally” against the defendants.

DOTHARD RESPONSE

Dothard’s attorney filed an answer to the Paris lawsuit May 29, denying or denying for lack of knowledge allegations in the amended Paris lawsuit. And on June 20, her attorney filed a response to Harold Hagerty III’s allegations against her and brings a “cross-claim” against Harold Hagerty III.

That filing states that the “injuries and damages, if any, sustained by” Paris and her mother’s estate “were directly and proximately caused by the negligence of … Harold Hagerty III.”