Page 29 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame

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vehicular manslaughter and other charges.
“He was driving under the in uence of alcohol, he crossed the double yellow line and he struck them head on. Krystale survived for less than an hour and her daughter was present and aware that her mother was injured,” said Diana M.A Carnemolla, the attorney who represented Jason Farinacci, Crescente’s widower, and their daughter.
The lawsuit included Powell and a large automaker, which owned the vehicle. The car was leased to an employee of the large auto- maker who loaned the use of the vehicle to Powell before the crash. After the defendant’s counsel tried to prove that Crescente may have been driving too close to the yellow line and may have been at fault, the jury found for her surviving family member. They were awarded $8,000,000.
This is a very large sum but it can never heal the loss suffered by the daughter, who is nearly 13 years old now.
“She lost her [mother’s] guidance. When does a child stop need- ing its mother? When she becomes a mother, she is going to need a mother. She won’t have that foundation that everyone develops looking at their parents - how to behave and how to act - and from what I gleaned from her family, Krystle was an amazing young lady,” said Carnemolla.
The attorney has kept in contact with her. “I do it with all my clients and she is a beautiful and a very special little girl,” she said. Thinking about this tragedy, Carnemolla re ects, “it gives you a reality check.”
Case: Estate of Farinacci v. Powell
Attorney: Ben B. Rubinowitz and Diana M.A
Carnemolla
Firm: Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf,
Bloom & Rubinowitz Verdict: $8,000,000
By Len Maniace
Krystle Crescente’s life held nothing but promise. In her early 20s, the young woman was driving with her then 4-year-old daughter on New York State Route 208 in Blooming Grove in Monroe County, around 90 minutes north of Manhattan. It was July 2007.
Without warning, a drunk driver crossed the double yellow line and crashed head rst into Crescente’s car. Although she would die every soon from her injuries, her last words were about her daugh- ter’s safety. The daughter, who was in the backseat of the vehicle, reportedly said, “My mommy is dead,” according to the police at the scene. Crescente was expecting her second child when she died.
The driver of the oncoming vehicle – Brian A. Powell – survived the crash and was arrested for a blood alcohol level of 0.14 as a result of drinking six steins of beer. He was eventually convicted of
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