Lawsuit filed over toddler's death at Alstede Farms
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the estate of toddler Elizabeth "Ella" Fuehring, who was struck and killed in October 2014 by a shuttle van at Alstede Farms in Chester Township.
The lawsuit, made public Monday in Superior Court, Morristown, is on behalf of the child's estate with her mother, Mount Olive resident Sarah Slanovec -- formerly Sarah Fuehring -- acting as "administratrix ad prosequendum, or the person appointed to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the estate. The child also is survived by her father, Kenneth Fuehring.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Michael Bubb, names multiple parties as defendants including The Streets of Chester Shopping Center, the Historic Chester Business Association, Alstede's Farm, shuttle driver Neil McWilliams, and the companies that provided security and advertising services for the 31st annual Harvest Celebration that was occurring on Oct. 12, 2014 when Ella, 3, was killed.
Kurt Alstede, owner of the popular Alstede Farms, was not immediately available for comment Monday, nor was Kathy Barbieri, president of the Historic Chester Business Association. Alstede, however, has released several statements in the past that expressed condolences to the family of Fuehring over the accident.
Neil McWilliams of Flanders, a seasonal Alstede Farms employee who was operating the "I Love Chester Express" shuttle van that struck the child, pleaded guilty over the summer to a careless driving ticket. The Morris County Prosecutor's Office had cleared McWilliams of any criminal wrongdoing. McWilliams was ordered to pay a fine of $239. He has undergone counseling since the accident, defense lawyer Gerald J. Kelly said.
Kelly said that the state Motor Vehicle Commission had recommended that McWilliams' driver's license be revoked for 16 months as a result of the accident. Kelly said he appealed and the commission then imposed a suspension of 100 days which is set to begin on Dec. 21.
In pleading guilty to the ticket, McWilliams acknowledged that he was sitting in the idling shuttle bus in a parking field at Alstede Farms when his foot slipped off the brake pedal. McWilliams accidentally put his foot on the accelerator when he meant to brake the van and it moved forward, colliding into a second van in front of it. The toddler, her mother, and their adult friend, Joanna Alemany, were all standing between the two vans. The child was killed; the two women sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The lawsuit alleges that The Streets of Chester Shopping Center, Alstede Farms and the Historic Chester Business Association were all participants in the harvest festival that promoted their interests for financial gain. Alstede Farms is the titled owner of the "I Love Chester Express," according to the lawsuit..
The shuttle and the second van were used during the festival to transport patrons around Chester Township and Chester and to cart them from the Gladstone train station to the shops and Alstede Farms, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit charges that "the large crowds and safety hazards created by events such as the annual harvest festival were well-known" to the defendants, who allegedly failed to take proper precautions of supervising, maintaining and operating the shuttle vans.
"All the defendants, their agents, servants, and/or employees, individually, jointly and severally knew or should have known that the large crowds they invited to the 31st Annual Harvest Celebration would yield a large amount of business invitees and necessitate security and safety precautions at the shuttle bus staging area," the lawsuit states.
The counts against the defendants include wrongful death, negligence, gross negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress on Sarah Slanovec, who observed the "I Love Chester Express" strike her daughter, the lawsuit said.
Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.
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