Pennsylvania lawmaker names bill after teen who died in school van accident
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Representative announced plans to introduce legislation that would change the Fair Share Act in the Commonwealth.
The bill, authored by Rep. Andrew Kuzma, has been named 'Samantha's Law' in dedication to Samantha Kalkbrenner, a fifteen-year-old student of Allegheny County who was killed while traveling in a school passenger van. The van that Kalkbrenner was riding in was hit by a racing driver.
'My bill will ensure that this finding is enshrined into the Fair Share Act so that any ambiguity on the question is eliminated,' Kuzma wrote. 'This will make the law more fair for plaintiffs seeking to recover damages when they are in no way at fault and remedy any potential legal confusion for courts.'
Kuzma's legislation would codify the recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision in Spencer vs. Johnson, which held that the defendants are held joint and severally liable for all damages when a plaintiff, such as Klakbrenner on the school van, is 0% negligent. Under the current law, the Fair Share Act does not address any share of an award, such as money, if a plaintiff is 0% negligent.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canada is independent and sovereign, says Starmer ahead of visit
Sir Keir Starmer has defended Canada as 'independent' and 'sovereign' following Donald Trump's repeated calls for its annexation as he visited Ottawa for talks on trade and security. In an apparent challenge to the US President, the Prime Minister said the country was a 'much-valued member of the Commonwealth'. Sir Keir indicated the UK and Canada will seek to restart trade talks on his way to meet Mark Carney, the country's premier and former Bank of England governor, in the Canadian capital on Saturday. The visit will be the first by a British premier to the country in eight years and comes ahead of leaders from the world's major economies meeting for the G7 summit in Kananaskis next week. The Prime Minister will be walking a diplomatic tightrope between strengthening bilateral relations with Canada and keeping Mr Trump, with whom he is finalising details of a transatlantic trade deal, on side. The US President has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the '51st state.' Asked whether he had called out Mr Trump's remarks about Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'Canada and the US are our allies. Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right, too. 'And that's the basis on which I've approached my discussions with all of our partners. I'm not going to get into the precise conversations I've had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth. 'And we work closely with Canada on any number of issues, whether that is defence and security – particularly the training in Ukraine, it's been something where Canada and the UK have worked very closely together.' He added: 'And one of the things I want to do is to open the door to taking out further, reducing out trade barriers with Canada. So, I'm really clear where we stand on that.' The UK and Canada have a trade relationship worth about £28 billion to the British economy and are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But the two leaders have starkly different approaches to the US president. Mr Carney previously criticised the UK Government's invitation for Mr Trump to make a second state visit, telling Sky News earlier this year that Canadians were 'not impressed' by the gesture. Downing Street said Sir Keir would use his visit to Canada to argue that 'in a shifting global economy, the UK must retain its proud status as a free and open trading nation – strengthening our existing alliances while reducing barriers to trade with other countries around the world'. He is also expected to meet Mr Trump at the summit next week.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Post election audits confirm Pennsylvania Primary's accuracy
(WHTM)– Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt certified the results of Pennsylvania's 2025 primary election Friday, confirming that results from all 67 counties were fair and accurate after post-election audits. Secretary Schmidt said that only 20% of registered voters in Pennsylvania cast a ballot in the May 2025 primary election. 'After carefully reviewing and compiling results from our 67 counties, I have formally certified the outcome of the May 20 primary election,' Schmidt said. 'I want to thank all county election officials, who not only worked hard on Primary Election Day to ensure a free, fair, safe, and secure election, but who also spent the last few weeks diligently verifying that all eligible votes were correctly counted.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Seventeen counties had at least one batch of ballots randomly selected for a risk-limiting audit, including ballot batches from Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Lancaster, and York Counties. No discrepancies were reported. 'The audits have confirmed that the reported primary election results are accurate, which is a testament to the hard work of county election officials,' Schmidt said. 'Because of their efforts, Pennsylvanians can feel confident in the accuracy and integrity of our electoral system.' Official vote returns for all statewide primary races can be found online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
2 Philly men arrested with $22,000 worth of drugs in Altoona
ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Two men from Philadelphia were arrested in Altoona on suspicion of drug trafficking Thursday night. Tyrone Chase, Jr., 29, and Ruben Rivera, 30, both from Philadelphia, are each charged with three felony counts for drug possession with intent to deliver. According to the Altoona Police Department, members of the Blair County Drug Task Force were patrolling downtown Altoona when they came across a Buick LaCrosse with heavily tinted windows along 17th Avenue and 14th Street. Police and K-9 Unit 'Blue' pulled the car over and found Chase and Ruben inside. K-9 'Blue' and his handler conducted an open-air sniff of the vehicle and K-9 'Blue' alerted his handler for the presence of drugs. Police were granted permission to search the car and impounded it. Inside, they allegedly located a large amount of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. Police said they seized 585 individual 'Philly Bags' of heroin and fentanyl, one gram of loose fentanyl, 181 small containers of crack and $1,274 in cash. According to Altoona Police, the amount of drugs found in the vehicle are evidential of narcotics trafficking and have a street value of over $22,000. Both men were arrested and placed in the Blair County Prison, unable to post their bail of $400,000 each. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
