Stuffed “Garfield” Blamed for Crash

Do you have anything hanging from the rear view mirror of you car?

I would suggest you get it off as the estate of a Hamilton woman seriously injured when she was hit by a car in 2006, was awarded $378,000 in damages.

The jury in the case determined that the driver was negligent in part due to a stuffed Garfield hanging from the rear view mirror.

The Times of Trenton reports Ellen Henkle, who was 52 at the time of the accident, required multiple surgeries and was disabled from the March 9, 2006 crash on Nottingham Way. She died four years later of natural causes.

Along with the $378,000 verdict for Henkle's estate, the jury also awarded $95,000 to her husband Mark Henkle, who cared for her after she was disabled in the crash.

"Plaintiff argued that the stuffed animal was a distraction, an obstruction, in violation of law requiring unobstructed windshield," Dennis Brotman, an attorney at Lawrence-based Fox Rothschild told the newspaper.

What’s on your mirror?