THUNDER BAY – The family of an 18-year-old woman killed in a car crash eight years ago has filed a second lawsuit against the former OPP officer who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in the case.
In July 2015 the family of Jasmine Veneruzzo filed a claim against Darryl Storey alleging last summer he published comments on social media that were “calculated to, among other things, cause damage to the plaintiffs’ reputation and/or expose them to hatred, contempt or ridicule.” It also alleged Storey’s privacy settings made the comments visible to the family members.
The lawsuit, which names parents Louis and Brenda Veneruzzo as well as siblings Jason and Jennifer Veneruzzo as plaintiffs, is seeking $800,000 in damages. That includes $200,000 for libel and slander, $200,000 for intentional infliction of mental distress and nervous shock, $100,000 for intrusion upon seclusion and $300,000 for punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages.
Veneruzzo was killed on Dec. 3, 2008 when her car travelling southbound on Twin City Crossroads was struck by Storey’s unmarked OPP cruiser heading west on Highway 11/17 at a high rate of speed without emergency lights or sirens engaged.
Storey, then a provincial police sergeant, was originally charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death but pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in September 2012, receiving a two-year prison sentence in a federal penitentiary.
Testimony heard during Storey’s criminal trial indicated his vehicle was travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour on the highway and at about 100 kilometres per hour when his cruiser slammed into Veneruzzo’s car.
The statement of claim alleges the comments referenced were intended to create the perception that Veneruzzo’s father was partially or wholly responsible for the collision, allowed her to drive his car which he knew or ought to have known was unsafe and accused the family of making false statements during the investigation and Storey’s criminal trial.
The family had also filed a $3 million lawsuit against Storey and the province of Ontario for the collision which remains before the courts.
None of the claims in either civil lawsuit have been proven in court.
