The attorney for Michelle Gelada seeks to dismiss the civil suit filed by parents of the West Virginia University student Gelada killed in a Morgantown traffic accident.
In February 2018, Leah Berhanu — a 21-year-old engineering student — was struck in a pedestrian crosswalk on Patteson Drive as Gelada’s vehicle tried to beat a red light.
Gelada, also a WVU student at the time of the collision, was found not guilty of negligent homicide in November by a Monongalia County jury.
Berhanu’s parents, Samuel Berhanu and Seble Wongel Hailu, filed a civil suit in March.
Gelada is represented by attorney Tiffany Durst, who filed this week’s response.
Allan Karlin is representing Berhanu’s parents, who are seeking punitive damages.
The complaint states Berhanu was in the crosswalk, with the walk light, when Gelada accelerated and ignored a red light.
Gelada concedes she hit Berhanu in the crosswalk, but claims Berhanu began walking before receiving the crossing signal.
The defendant’s response denies allegations that Gelada was reckless, willful and malicious. The criminal trial revealed Gelada was not drunk, using her phone or speeding when she struck Berhanu, but prosecutors claimed “everyone was in danger” at the intersection because Gelada ran the red light.
A hearing is scheduled for May 6 before Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Gaujot.
