PENDLETON — A 20-year-old Pendleton woman and her parents filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages after she was seriously injured when a boat drove over her at Brookville Reservoir in June.
Ashley Hilton and her parents, David and Tara Hilton, are seeking compensation for medical costs, emotional and physical suffering, and loss of future earnings, among other issues, according to the lawsuit filed in Franklin County in July.
Tara Hilton previously said Hilton and another woman, Shea Eckert, 20, McCordsville, were readying themselves atop a four-person, inflatable tube when Hilton was hit by the 34-foot boat driven by John Seale, 48, Brookville, shortly after noon on June 28.
Shea was able to jump safely away prior to impact and wasn’t injured, but Ashley tried diving into the water to avoid the boat. She couldn’t completely dive underneath, however, because she was wearing a life jacket, her mother said not long after the incident.
Ashley, a Mount Vernon High School graduate, suffered a deep, 12-inch gash to her lower back, and the impact caused her to lose the lower half of her tailbone. She was airlifted to a Dayton, Ohio, hospital. Ashley was hospitalized for two weeks, and needed frequent home visits from a nurse once she was released.
“It’s not completely healed yet,” Tara Hilton said Wednesday. “She’s better, of course ... but she’ll have tailbone pain for at least a year.”
Ashley has returned to studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, but Hilton said the injuries make it difficult for her daughter to sit or stand for long periods of time. She couldn’t be reached for comment.
Ashley and Shea had been “tubing,” pulled behind the Hiltons’ family boat shortly before Seale struck Ashley. The women were stationary, however, at the time of the incident. The lawsuit claims Seale acted negligently by failing to see the women, and operating his cabin cruiser at an unsafe speed.
A telephone listing for Seale couldn’t be located. His attorney, Chad Buell, Indianapolis, declined comment.
Indianapolis attorney Lee C. Christie is representing the Hiltons and said Ashley’s medical bills have reached about $200,000 so far. He said Seale’s boat is insured through Travelers insurance.
“It’s certainly above $150,000 and she still has several surgeries left,” he said.
Christie said Ashley is expected to undergo reconstructive surgery in the coming months. He said a monetary figure wasn’t included in the lawsuit because they still don’t know the extent of her permanent injuries. Ashley’s mother said many muscles and nerves in her lower back were severed by the boat.
Despite the serious, lingering injuries, Christie said Ashley’s morale has improved since the incident.
“I think getting back into school helped,” he said. “I think her spirits are up.”
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What’s next?
Attorneys for John G. Seale, Brookville, have until Oct. 15 to file a response to a lawsuit claiming he was negligent in operating his boat when he drove over a Pendleton woman in June on Brookville Reservoir.
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