SPRINGFIELD — A Longmeadow family has filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the driver of the car that grievously injured their daughter and killed another high school classmate in a late-night crash.
Shea Hamel, a victim of the crash, and her parents filed suit in Hampden Superior Court on Monday. The crux of the complaint focuses on a party at Zachary Elfman’s home for Longmeadow High School cross-country athletes just before their graduation in 2022. The gathering preceded the collision.
Elfman was subsequently charged with driving under the influence of liquor and motor vehicle homicide. He was just shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the crash in the early morning hours of May 7 that year.
Shea Hamel was the backseat passenger of an Acura owned by the driver’s older sister, Emily Elfman, according to court records. The elder sister was not in the car.
Court filings in both the criminal prosecution and the civil lawsuit do not specify where Elfman, Hamel and classmate Katarina “Kat” Boskovic were going, two things are undisputable: Boskovic died in the crash and Hamel was gravely injured.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Zachary Elfman’s negligent and reckless conduct, Plaintiff Shea Hamel suffered severe injuries, including but not limited to facial fractures, fractures of her cervical spine, traumatic brain injury, and injury to other portions of her body,” the Hamels’ complaint reads.
Zachary Elfman has been free on bail and attending college since his arraignment in Hampden Juvenile Court, when he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to the lawsuit, the Elfman parents, Ira and Ellen, knew or should have known minors were drinking at their home on Green Willow Drive.
Among the defendants is an unnamed package store that allegedly sold the teenagers liquor.
Holyoke attorney Shawn Allyn represents Ira and Ellen Elfman, defendants in the civil lawsuit over a fatal crash in 2022. (The Republican / file photo)
A lawyer for the Elfman family disputed claims asserted in the lawsuit.
“The facts stated in the complaint are self-serving and not true. Once the evidence unfolds it will be shown that Ira and Ellen Elfman had no knowledge of the events occurring and the claimants bought their own alcohol,” said defense lawyer Shawn P. Allyn, who added he plans to join the Elfmans’ battle in civil court after the criminal matter is settled.
“A GPS … had the car going only 30 miles per hour,” Allyn said, disputing prior police reports about the speed of the car when it collided with a tree that morning.
Runner’s take off at the “Run Like Kat” 5K race in Longmeadow.
An annual road race, “Run Like Kat,” has been organized in Kat Boskovic’s memory. The proceeds go to a charity fund. On the year anniversary of her death, many families in Longmeadow and beyond light their homes with the color purple — Kat’s signature hue.
Shea Hamel was instrumental in leading that initiative.
“I always felt as though it needed to be something momentous because she was such an impactful person,” Shea Hamel told a reporter for The Republican in 2023.
Hamel, who has recovered and runs for Westfield State University, has come in first in her age group in each of the three “Run Like Kat” races, after training for years with her running buddy.
Allyn recently won a long-standing motion to dismiss alcohol evidence in the case. Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni signaled he will appeal.
A pretrial hearing in the criminal case is set for May 21.
