Lorraine Petimeyer v. Douglas Ashcombe

CASE FILE · WITNESS STATEMENT PETIMEYER

Signed Statement of Lorraine Petimeyer

Taken at the offices of Ellingboe & Ravndal LLP, Norsholm, Meridian. Given in the first person by the client.

My name is Lorraine Petimeyer. I am fifty-two years old and I live in Elleston. I drive a school-bus route in the mornings and afternoons, and on weekends I clean houses and help a couple of older folks around their homes to make ends meet.

On Friday morning, February 7, 2025, I was driving to the bus depot to start my route. It was cold and there had been a nasty freezing drizzle overnight. The roads were slick — you could see the shine of ice on the pavement in spots, and nobody had put down sand yet on Elleston Road.

I came down Elleston Road toward the light at Birchmont Avenue. There was one car stopped ahead of me at the red light, so I came to a full stop behind it. I was completely stopped, both hands on the wheel, waiting for the light. I had been sitting there for a few seconds when — bang — something hit me hard from behind. My head snapped and the car lurched forward.

I did not see it coming. I was facing forward, watching the light, so I honestly cannot tell you what the other driver was doing right before he hit me. Afterward, the way he came down that hill and slammed into a car that was plainly stopped, I felt sure he had not been paying attention. But I did not see his hands or his phone or anything like that. That is my feeling, not something I watched happen.

The man who hit me was driving a big pickup. He got out and said he was sorry, that he had slid on the ice and could not stop. A police officer came, a woman, and took down what both of us said. She looked at the ice on the road and did not write either of us a ticket. That bothered me, because I was just sitting there stopped.

At the scene I felt rattled but I did not think I was badly hurt, so I told them I did not need an ambulance. I drove myself home and I even went in and did part of my afternoon route because I did not want to leave the kids without a driver. That was probably a mistake. By the next morning my neck and my right shoulder were stiff and sore, and it got worse over the weekend. On Sunday I finally went to the urgent care, and they sent me on to a specialist.

I went through months of physical therapy — around twenty visits. It helped a lot, but my neck still gets stiff and my shoulder still hurts when I turn my head fast or reach up over my head. On the bus that matters, because I have to look back over my shoulder constantly and help buckle in the ramp for a student who uses a wheelchair. I missed about three weeks of shifts and lost the pay for them, and I had to cut back my hours for a while after that.

I want to be treated fairly. My bills are real, the pay I lost is real, and I was just sitting at a red light. The insurance company offered me twelve thousand dollars and that does not begin to cover what I have been through.

Signed, Lorraine Petimeyer

CASE FILE · WITNESS STATEMENT QUESADA

Signed Statement of Rafael Quesada

Independent witness. Statement taken by the plaintiff's investigator; given in the first person.

My name is Rafael Quesada. On the morning of February 7, 2025, I was driving to work and I was stopped at the red light at Elleston Road and Birchmont Avenue. I was in the left lane, and there was a sedan stopped in the right lane a little ahead of me, and a car in front of that one.

It was icy that morning — really icy. When I braked coming up to the light, my own car slid a few feet before it stopped, so I was being careful. I remember thinking the road was in bad shape and the city had not sanded it yet.

While I was sitting there I looked over to my right at a pickup truck coming down the hill in the right lane, behind the sedan. What caught my attention was that the driver seemed to have his head down — he was looking down toward his lap, not out at the road, at least in the couple of seconds I saw him. Then the truck started to slide and it slid right into the back of the sedan that was stopped at the light. It was not a huge crash, but you could hear it.

I want to be fair about this. I did not see a phone in his hands. I could not tell you what he was looking at down there. All I can say for certain is that his head was down and he did not seem to be watching the road in the moment before he started sliding. I also cannot tell you exactly how fast he was going. It did not look like he was speeding, but on that ice it would not have taken much.

After it happened I pulled over, made sure the lady in the sedan was okay, and I gave my name and number to the police officer when she got there. The officer asked me what I saw and I told her the same thing I am telling you.

Signed, Rafael Quesada

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · POLICE CRASH REPORT HARMON

Elleston Police Department — Traffic Crash Report

Exhibit m03.exh.001

• Report number: EPD-2025-00417
• Reporting officer: Officer Denise Harmon, Elleston Police Department
• Date and time of crash: February 7, 2025, approximately 7:43 a.m.
• Location: Elleston Road at Birchmont Avenue, Elleston, Marrick County, Meridian
• Weather / roadway: Overcast, below freezing; roadway coated with a sheet of ice; no sand or treatment observed on this stretch. Daylight.

Vehicles

• Vehicle 1 (V1): Four-door sedan operated by Lorraine Petimeyer. Stopped in the right (northbound) travel lane at the Birchmont Avenue signal. Rear-end damage to trunk and bumper. No airbag deployment. Driver only occupant; restrained.
• Vehicle 2 (V2): Full-size pickup truck operated by Douglas Ashcombe. Traveling northbound in the right lane, downgrade, behind V1. Minor front-bumper damage. Driver only occupant; restrained.

Narrative

Officer responded and arrived approximately fifteen minutes after the reported time of the crash. Both operators were on scene and cooperative.

Operator of V1 (Petimeyer) stated she was fully stopped at the red signal behind another vehicle when she was struck from behind by V2. She reported no immediate injuries and declined medical transport at the scene.

Operator of V2 (Ashcombe) stated he was traveling downgrade at a speed he estimated below the posted limit when his vehicle encountered a patch of ice, lost traction, and slid into the rear of V1. He stated he was unable to stop in time due to the ice.

An independent witness, Rafael Quesada, stopped in the adjacent left lane, provided contact information and stated the roadway was icy and that the operator of V2 appeared to have his head down before the vehicles made contact. Witness stated he did not observe a phone.

Officer observed extensive ice on the roadway surface and confirmed no roadway treatment had been applied on this segment. Damage pattern to both vehicles is consistent with a low-to-moderate-speed rear impact.

Disposition

No citation issued to either operator. Given the hazardous roadway conditions and the absence of independent evidence of unlawful speed, officer determined the available evidence did not support a citation at the scene. Both operators exchanged information and vehicles were driven from the scene.

A field diagram of the intersection, lane positions, downgrade, signal, and vehicle rest positions is attached (see Exhibit m03.exh.002).

Officer Denise Harmon, EPD Badge 214.

CASE FILE · WITNESS STATEMENT EKWUEME

Treating-Physician Narrative — Dr. Ifeoma Ekwueme, Physiatry

Treating provider's summary report. Prepared for the file at counsel's request; clinical narrative only.

I am Dr. Ifeoma Ekwueme, a physician board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. I first evaluated Lorraine Petimeyer on February 12, 2025, on referral from an urgent-care clinic she had visited three days earlier.

History. Ms. Petimeyer reported that on February 7, 2025, she was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic signal. She described immediate feeling of being "jolted," with neck and right-shoulder stiffness and pain developing by the following morning and worsening over the weekend. She reported difficulty turning her head, reaching overhead, and performing the reaching and lifting her bus-driving work requires.

Examination. On initial examination I found reduced and painful range of motion in the cervical spine, tenderness in the paracervical and right trapezius musculature, and a positive impingement sign in the right shoulder. Neurologic examination of the upper extremities was intact. Imaging showed no fracture and no acute disc herniation; findings were consistent with soft-tissue injury and shoulder impingement, with some age-expected degenerative change also present.

Diagnosis. Cervical strain and right-shoulder impingement syndrome.

Course of treatment. I prescribed a course of physical therapy. Ms. Petimeyer attended approximately twenty therapy sessions between late February and July 2025, with home exercises. She made substantial functional gains over that period. At her most recent visit she retained intermittent neck stiffness and right-shoulder pain provoked by rapid head rotation and overhead reaching.

Prior condition and causation. Ms. Petimeyer disclosed a history of right-shoulder rotator-cuff tendinitis treated in 2019, which had largely resolved. In my opinion, based on the mechanism of injury, the timing of symptom onset, and the examination findings, the February 2025 collision aggravated a previously quiescent shoulder condition and produced a new, symptomatic soft-tissue injury of the neck and shoulder. The degenerative changes on imaging are age-expected and were, in my judgment, asymptomatic before this collision.

I understand another physician retained by the opposing side has examined Ms. Petimeyer and reached a different conclusion regarding causation. My opinions are based on my own examinations and her course of care under my direction.

Ifeoma Ekwueme, M.D.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · IME REPORT KOLSTAD

Independent Medical Examination — Dr. Alan Kolstad

Report of the physician retained by the defense to conduct an independent medical examination. Included in the file so plaintiff's counsel can prepare to meet it. Clinical opinion only.

I am Dr. Alan Kolstad, a physician retained by counsel for the defense to perform an independent medical examination of Lorraine Petimeyer. I examined Ms. Petimeyer on September 18, 2025, and reviewed her available medical records and imaging.

History reviewed. Ms. Petimeyer reported a rear-end collision on February 7, 2025, while stopped, with neck and right-shoulder complaints developing the following day. Records reflect an initial urgent-care visit two days after the collision and a subsequent course of physical therapy of approximately twenty sessions. Records also reflect a prior episode of right-shoulder rotator-cuff tendinitis treated in 2019.

Examination. On examination I noted mild restriction of cervical motion at the extremes and mild right-shoulder discomfort with overhead reaching. Strength was full and symmetric. Imaging demonstrated degenerative changes at the cervical spine and the right shoulder consistent with the examinee's age and her long history of repetitive lifting work.

Opinion. In my opinion, the imaging findings and current complaints are largely explained by pre-existing degenerative change and the examinee's documented prior shoulder condition, rather than by the February 2025 collision. The vehicle damage described is modest, and the delay of two days before the onset of reported symptoms and initial treatment is, in my view, not typical of a significant acute injury. I would attribute at most a short-lived cervical strain to the collision, superimposed on a pre-existing and age-related condition, with the examinee's continuing complaints attributable principally to the pre-existing condition.

I understand the treating physician has reached a different conclusion. This report reflects my own examination and record review.

Alan Kolstad, M.D.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT DIAGRAM

Exhibit m03.exh.002 — Intersection & Scene Diagram

Description of the stipulated field diagram attached to the Elleston Police crash report. In the trial packet this is the load-bearing demonstrative exhibit; a scaled diagram is prepared from this description.

Vantage: Overhead (plan) view of the intersection of Elleston Road and Birchmont Avenue, Elleston, Marrick County.

Roadway geometry:

• Elleston Road runs north–south and carries two northbound travel lanes (left and right) approaching the Birchmont Avenue signal. The approach is on a gentle downgrade toward the intersection.
• Birchmont Avenue runs east–west and crosses at a signalized intersection.
• A standard three-phase traffic signal governs the intersection; it was displaying red for northbound Elleston Road traffic at the time of the crash.

Vehicle and witness positions marked on the diagram:

• V1 (Petimeyer sedan): stopped in the right northbound lane, second in line behind one other stopped vehicle, its front bumper short of the crosswalk.
• Lead vehicle: stopped ahead of V1 in the right lane (uninvolved).
• V2 (Ashcombe pickup): in the right northbound lane behind V1, shown mid-slide with a short skid/slide path to the point of impact at the rear of V1.
• Witness (Quesada): stopped in the left northbound lane, roughly one car length behind the front of V1.
• Point of impact: rear bumper/trunk of V1.
• Rest positions: V1 pushed forward a short distance; V2 in contact with the rear of V1.

Annotations: downgrade arrow on the Elleston Road approach; "ICE — untreated" notation across the northbound lanes; posted speed limit 30 mph marked on the approach.

Prepared from Officer Harmon's field diagram (Exhibit m03.exh.001).

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT PHOTOGRAPHS

Exhibit m03.exh.003 — Vehicle-Damage Photographs (Described)

Descriptions of the photographs in the file. Actual images are held in the matter file; the descriptions govern the record for teaching purposes.

Photograph 1 — Petimeyer sedan, rear three-quarter view. Shows the rear of the four-door sedan with the trunk lid buckled upward, the rear bumper cover cracked and pushed in on the left side, and the license-plate area deformed. Taillight housing on the driver's side is broken.

Photograph 2 — Petimeyer sedan, close rear. Close view of the crushed bumper reinforcement and a gap between the bumper cover and the quarter panel. No intrusion into the passenger compartment; airbags not deployed.

Photograph 3 — Petimeyer sedan, interior. Driver's seat and headrest shown in normal position; no visible interior damage.

Photograph 4 — Ashcombe pickup, front view. Full-size pickup with a scuff and minor dent to the front bumper and a cracked lower fascia; no other visible damage. The truck's ride height places its bumper higher than the sedan's bumper.

Photograph 5 — Roadway surface. Wide shot of the northbound approach on Elleston Road showing a glazed, reflective ice surface across both lanes and no visible sand or treatment. A downgrade toward the signal is visible.

Photograph 6 — Signal and intersection. The Birchmont Avenue signal displaying red for the northbound approach, with both vehicles visible in their post-crash positions.

Photographs taken at the scene and shortly afterward by the responding officer and the plaintiff.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT MEDICAL SUMMARY

Exhibit m03.exh.004 — Medical Records & Billing Summary

Summary of Lorraine Petimeyer's treatment records and charges arising from the February 7, 2025 collision. Figures are the documented billed charges in the file.

Diagnoses of record: cervical strain; right-shoulder impingement syndrome.

Prior history noted in records: right-shoulder rotator-cuff tendinitis treated in 2019, described as largely resolved at that time.

Functional status at discharge: substantial improvement with residual intermittent neck stiffness and right-shoulder pain on rapid head rotation and overhead reaching.

Records maintained by the treating providers; billing figures reflect charges, not amounts paid or adjusted.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT CELL RECORDS

Exhibit m03.exh.005 — Cellular-Records Excerpt (Described)

Excerpt from the carrier records for the mobile number associated with Douglas Ashcombe, produced in discovery. Only the entries near the time of the crash are summarized here.

Account holder: Douglas Ashcombe Date of activity: February 7, 2025

Points in dispute reflected by this exhibit:

• The 7:42 a.m. outgoing text was sent within approximately one minute of the estimated 7:43 a.m. time of impact.
• The carrier record shows that a message was sent; it does not indicate whether the message was typed by hand on the device or composed by hands-free voice dictation.
• Ashcombe contends the message was dictated hands-free through his vehicle's system and that he did not handle the phone. No independent record confirms or refutes that account.

Carrier records produced pursuant to discovery; times reflect the carrier's system clock.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT REPAIR APPRAISAL

Exhibit m03.exh.006 — Vehicle Repair Appraisal

Independent property-damage appraisal of the Petimeyer sedan.

• Vehicle: Four-door sedan owned by Lorraine Petimeyer
• Appraiser: Marrick County Auto Appraisal Services (independent)
• Date of appraisal: February 18, 2025

Damage findings:

• Rear bumper cover: crushed, requires replacement
• Rear bumper reinforcement bar: deformed, requires replacement
• Trunk lid: buckled, requires replacement
• Driver-side taillight housing: broken, requires replacement
• Rear body panel: minor deformation, repair and refinish
• Alignment and inspection of rear suspension components

Estimated repair cost: $4,820

Total-loss determination: Not a total loss; repair economically feasible. Vehicle was subsequently repaired.

Appraiser note: Damage pattern is consistent with a rear impact at low-to-moderate speed. The height differential between the striking pickup and the sedan is reflected in the location of the bumper contact.

Independent appraisal prepared at the request of the plaintiff.

CASE-FILE DOCUMENT · EXHIBIT WAGE LOSS

Exhibit m03.exh.007 — Wage-Loss Statement

Summary of Lorraine Petimeyer's claimed lost earnings from missed and reduced bus-route work following the collision.

• Employer: Elleston area school-transportation service (part-time bus driver)
• Regular schedule: Split morning and afternoon routes, five days per week during the school year

Missed work:

• Full shifts missed: approximately three weeks of morning-and-afternoon route days in the period following the February 7, 2025 collision, while symptoms were most acute and she was beginning treatment.
• Reduced hours: a subsequent period of reduced hours, during which she declined or shortened afternoon shifts because of neck and shoulder pain aggravated by repeated over-the-shoulder checks and by helping secure the wheelchair ramp.

Claimed lost wages: approximately $3,200, based on her documented hourly rate and scheduled route hours during the affected period.

Supporting materials in file: route schedule, timesheets showing missed and shortened shifts, and pay records establishing the hourly rate.

Prepared from the employer's timesheets and pay records.

BUSINESS EXHIBIT · ENGAGEMENT LETTER

Contingency-Fee Engagement Agreement

Ellingboe & Ravndal LLP 310 Riverwalk Plaza, Suite 400, Norsholm, Meridian 55901

Date: February 14, 2025

Client: Lorraine Petimeyer 48 Larkspur Lane, Elleston, Meridian 55716

Re: Personal-injury claim arising from the February 7, 2025 motor-vehicle collision

Dear Ms. Petimeyer:

Thank you for asking Ellingboe & Ravndal LLP to represent you. This letter sets out the terms of our engagement.

Scope of representation. We will represent you in your claim for personal injuries and related damages arising from the February 7, 2025 collision at Elleston Road and Birchmont Avenue in Elleston. Our work includes investigating the facts, advising you, negotiating with the other side and its insurer, and, if necessary, filing and pursuing a lawsuit through trial in the Meridian District Court. This engagement does not include any appeal or any separate claim, which would require a new agreement.

Our fee. This is a contingency-fee engagement. You will not pay us an hourly fee. Instead, our fee will be one-third (33.34%) of any gross recovery obtained on your behalf, whether by settlement or judgment. If there is no recovery, you owe us no attorney's fee. We keep contemporaneous time records solely so that both of us can see the effort invested; those records do not change the contingency fee.

Costs and expenses. Litigation costs — such as the filing fee, records charges, deposition costs, and any expert fees — are separate from our fee. The firm will advance reasonable costs as the case proceeds, and those advanced costs will be reimbursed from any recovery. If there is no recovery, we will not seek reimbursement of advanced costs from you.

Your role. You agree to keep us informed, to respond to our requests, and to be truthful and complete with us about the facts, your treatment, and your history, including anything you think might hurt the case — candor with us is what lets us protect you. The decision whether to accept any settlement is always yours.

No guarantee. We cannot and do not guarantee any particular result. Liability and the extent of your injuries are contested, and the outcome is uncertain.

If these terms are acceptable, please sign below and return a copy. We are glad to be working with you.

Sincerely,

Amara Ellingboe Ellingboe & Ravndal LLP

Lorraine Petimeyer (Client) Date

BUSINESS EXHIBIT · INTAKE & CONFLICTS

Intake (2025-02-13). Client rear-ended while stopped at a red light on an icy morning; contested liability and disputed neck/shoulder injuries. Seeks representation to pursue a personal-injury claim after a low insurer settlement offer.

Conflicts check (2025-02-13) — CLEAR. No prior or current representation of Douglas Ashcombe or his liability insurer; no relationship with the independent witness. No conflict identified.

BUSINESS EXHIBIT · BILLING STATEMENT (12 TIME ENTRIES)

Contingency engagement — time is recorded to show effort invested; the fee is a percentage of recovery, not these amounts.