Latest news with #Elfman
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Longmeadow family filed lawsuit in 2022 deadly crash
LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) – A Longmeadow family is filing a lawsuit against the driver of the car that injured their daughter and killed her high school classmate back in 2022. Wednesday was the three-year anniversary of the devastating car crash that left then Longmeadow high school senior Shea Hamel severely injured and it took the life of her track teammate and friend, Katarina Boskovic. Fundraiser at Jersey Mikes in Longmeadow supports Be Like Kat charity Now, Hamel and her parents are filing a $1.1 million lawsuit against Zachary Elfman and his parents. He's the boy who they say drove their daughter while under the influence of alcohol after a party he hosted at his parents' home. According to their complaint, it left her with facial fractures, fractures of her cervical spine, and a traumatic brain injury, among others. Beyond Elfman's 'negligent and reckless' driving while under the influence, the Hamels' complaint alleges that Elfman's parents, Ira and Ellen, were home during the party, aware that there was underage drinking, and did not keep him from driving under the influence of alcohol. Eflman's attorney told 22News, 'The facts stated in the complaint are self-serving and not true and once the evidence unfolds, it will be shown that Ira & Ellen Elfman had no knowledge of the events occurring and the claimants brought their own alcohol with them.' The Hamels are also suing the unnamed liquor store that sold alcohol to Elfman, who was just shy of 18 at the time. Now, they're requesting a jury hear their case. Meanwhile their attorney was not available for comment at this time. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Longmeadow family files $1.1 million civil lawsuit over 2022 deadly crash
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. 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. 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. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Motion to suppress alcohol evidence in deadly Longmeadow crash allowed
SPRINGFIELD — Nearly three years after a car crash took the life of a Longmeadow teen, the young driver charged with motor vehicle homicide won a motion to squash evidence related to alleged alcohol consumption. On May 7, 2022, a collision on Green Willow Drive killed Katarina 'Kat' Boskovic, 18, and nearly killed classmate Shea Hamel. A Longmeadow High School senior, Zachary Elfman, then 17, was charged with drunken driving, motor vehicle homicide and related counts. Now nearing 21, Elfman has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case has dragged for years and Juvenile Court Judge David B. Paradis recently issued an evidentiary decision that may imperil the case, though Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni recently insisted the prosecution will withstand the blow. 'We're extremely disappointed and dismayed by the judge's decision with which we vigorously disagree, and it is legally flawed,' Gulluni said during an interview this week. Paradis hung his ruling on the fact that Elfman was a juvenile and not permitted to speak with his father on scene, in addition to running afoul of Miranda warning standards and insisting that Elfman perform field sobriety tests despite an injury to his leg. 'The officer's questioning flagrantly violated the juvenile's Miranda rights and the right to have an interested adult present in his questioning,' the ruling reads. Defense attorney Shawn P. Allyn lauded the judge's decision. 'The judge's findings are completely accurate and grounded in the record, application of the law is completely on point.' Allyn said. 'The police, upon their arrival, trampled over Zachary Elfman's constitutional rights, rushed to judgment and made multiple crime scene errors.' The allegations are that a group of teens had been drinking heavily at Elfman's home before the three got in the car and drove away — striking a tree at the base of the street. Boskovik, Hamel and Elfman were teammates on the high school's cross-country track team. The case has been contentious with Allyn attempting to bar Boskovic's father from the courtroom and Paradis excusing Elfman from every hearing after his arraignment. The next hearing in court is scheduled for May 7 — the third anniversary of the crash. 'Of all the dates they could have picked, how tone deaf is that?' said the Boskovic family's civil attorney, Raipher D. Pellegrino. He, along with Gulluni, was critical of how long the case has continued and the delay of 14 months for the judge to issue his ruling on the evidence. 'Justice delayed is justice denied,' Pellegrino said. Gulluni's office swiftly filed an appeal, attacking the judge's rationale. The appeal noted Elfman made puzzling remarks in the police cruiser including 'Can I get the diagnosis? Can I get the diagnosis? What's the plan?' Pleadings in the case have included wrenching details including when Elfman was informed Boskovic, to whom he referred as his 'best friend,' was dead and Hamel, who he claimed he didn't know, 'wasn't far behind.' Hamel survived grievous injuries after a long stint in the hospital. Elfman sobbed at the scene and repeatedly asked responding officers for a hug, according to court records. Gulluni also critiqued the delay in the judge's ruling. 'We're hopeful that justice will prevail for the Boskovic and Hamel families,' he said. 'The idea that this decision took 14 months is frankly unacceptable. These are good people who've been through a nightmare.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jenna Elfman says her 'Dark Winds' character is 'kind of a monster': 'She's just dripping with white entitlement'
Jenna Elfman battled monsters in the form of zombies on Fear the Walking Dead. In her latest role, the actress is taking on a different kind of monster and possibly playing one herself. Elfman is guest-starring in Season 3 of Dark Winds, which sees a 1970s Navajo Tribal Police force investigating the disappearance of two boys on a reservation where mystery often mixes with violent crime. The AMC series, which is based on books by the late Tony Hillerman, stars Indigenous actors Zahn McClarnon, Jessica Matten and Kiowa Gordon. Season 3 premieres March 9, and the series was recently renewed for Season 4. The actress plays FBI Special Agent Sylvia Washington, who visits the reservation to investigate a missing person who played a pivotal role in Season 2. Her character arrives with 'something to prove,' and she clashes with Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon). While the monsters on Fear the Walking Dead 'are on the outside,' Elfman told Yahoo Entertainment, 'the monsters are on the inside' on Dark Winds. 'I think it's the inner monster of one's conscience and one's wrestling with justice, and what does it mean and how justice looks different to different cultures and to different people,' she said. 'But also how they manifest on the outside because I'm kind of a monster to [Leaphorn],' Elfman explained. 'She's just dripping with white entitlement and absolute social blindness. ... And I mean, she's on the rez. This is their land. From his point of view, she's a guest. From her point of view, she's just right at home.' The two characters have a tug-of-war relationship on the job. Elfman said she appreciated that she and McClarnon, who she called 'kind and present,' had 'a very different energy to each other.' 'Zahn and his character [are] very calm, and my character and [I are] more kinetic,' she explained. 'I liked how those ... two energy wavelengths really played in the scenes of someone who's got something to prove and someone who's got something to hide.' The longtime actress also said she felt honored to be working with an Indigenous cast and crew on Native land. 'They were always honoring the land. They were always reminding everyone [of] the land that we were on. And so there was always a very spiritual aspect to the time and place and space that we were in while making the show,' she said. 'I felt just honored. I literally couldn't stop saying how honored I felt.' Elfman is enjoying her character's evolution on the show, especially 'that collision of energy and the secrets [Leaphorn] has as his character and the drive [of] my character.' She added, 'In 1972, that was when the first two female FBI agents came out of the school,' which explains why her character has so much to prove. The actress also praised the 'nuanced' writing on the show, which 'supported a nuanced performance.' 'It supported layers,' she said. 'What that did to me, having the privilege of that kind of writing, was just such a treat.' Season 3 premieres March 9 on AMC and AMC+.
