BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Williamsville family is taking legal action against New York State over a crash involving a state trooper, that killed a beloved mother. That crash happened earlier this year right outside the Buffalo airport and was captured on surveillance cameras.
The trooper was never criminally charged, but the family believes he is partially at fault.
Joan Gozdalski of Lancaster was someone everyone in her family looked up to.
"A woman who was the matriarch of her family who raised four children," said John Comerford, an attorney for Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC.
In late January, on a picture-perfect winter day, Joan was with her in-laws on their way to do some gambling. They had a green light and were turning onto Buell Avenue, off Genesee Street, right outside the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Gozdalski was in the backseat passenger side, her sister-in-law was driving.
No one could've predicted what happened next.
"She thought it was clear, but as she was making the turn the collision really happened out of nowhere," Comerford said.
They collided with a State Police trooper, who was driving an unmarked patrol car. Trooper Thomas Swanson was on duty, without his lights on. NFTA surveillance video shows it all.
"In watching this, this isn't the best view but this accident currently captures how fast he was driving," Comerford said.
The incident report, 2 On Your Side has obtained, says Trooper Swanson accelerated from 47 mph to 55 mph — 3.5 seconds before the crash — impact occurred at 39 mph, giving the indication Swanson was breaking.
The report also says the crash would've happened even if Swanson was going the speed limit of 45 miles per hour.
"It's our claim that the trooper was going at least 10 miles above the speed limit and because of that he could not stop in time," Comerford said.
Gozdalski's in-laws suffered minor injuries.
Gozdalski suffered a serious head injury and died two weeks later. The Medical Examiner's office says the cause of death was of blunt force head trauma.
"We feel once we show our side of this story that reasonable minds will conclude that this accident absolutely avoidable," Comerford said.
That's why the family of Joan Gozdalski plans to file a civil lawsuit against the state, claiming negligence on the part of the Trooper Swanson. That lawsuit is expected to be filed by the end of the week.
Erie County DA John Flynn spoke to 2 On Your Side Wednesday about this case saying the trooper was not criminally reckless in this crash and that part of the blame is also on the driver, who was behind the wheel of the car the victim was in.
"From a criminal standpoint the trooper was at zero percent (fault),"There's an accident and then there's a reckless accident and there's nothing that rose and above the bar of this being an accident on both parties."
2 On Your Side has reached out to State Police for a comment, but we have not heard back.