LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville couple filed a lawsuit this week against a Florida doctor who they say should be held responsible for the crash that killed their two young children at a mini golf course on family vacation.
Addie and Baylor Kirchgessner died in early December 2020 when a pickup left the road and hit them while they were playing putt-putt golf with their parents at Coconut Creek Family Fun Park on Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach, Florida. Debbie Ward, communications director for the city of Panama City Beach, said a pickup truck left the road for an unknown reason and hit the kids.
Baylor, 4, was pronounced dead at the scene, and efforts to save Addie, 6, were unsuccessful. She died at Panama City's Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Hospital in Panama City.
In a news conference Wednesday, Matt and Lauren Kirchgessner said the driver of the car that hit the kids, Scott Donaldson, had been hospitalized at least 12 times between 2000-18 and had five previous crashes due to alcohol-related seizures. They said nothing had been done to prevent it from happening again.
"Today is about fighting for justice," Lauren Kirchgessner said.
Donaldson had a seizure during the accident, according to findings released a month later. According to a news release from Florida State Attorney Larry Basford, Donaldson had an epileptic seizure before he lost control of the truck and hit the two children.
Basford said that at the time of the crash, Donaldson had no alcohol or illegal controlled substances in his system. But the Kirchgessners' attorneys said Wednesday they've uncovered evidence that says multiple people — namely family physician Dr. Tim Smith — downplayed and concealed Donaldson's problems.
Two young children from Louisville were hit and killed by a vehicle at a family fun park in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Friday. Dec. 4, 2020
The complaint alleges Smith twice signed off on allowing Donaldson to keep his license "despite allegedly being hospitalized at least 12 times for seizures and alcohol abuse ..."
"As it stands, no one has been held responsible for the deaths of our sweet Addie and Baylor," Matt and Lauren Kirchgessner said in a news release Wednesday. "We believe that multiple people could have prevented this tragedy, and we never want this to happen to another family. The doctor needs to be held accountable for the decisions he made that we believe led to our children's tragic deaths, and we call on everyone to take responsibility for keeping dangerous drivers off the road."
To read the full complaint filed Tuesday in Florida, click here.
Investigators said Donaldson has had seizures for more than 20 years and had three prior crashes that were caused by seizures. At the time of the crash in 2020, his driver's license had been restored by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
During the investigation, the state attorney's office considered charging Donaldson with DUI, manslaughter, vehicular homicide and manslaughter by culpable negligence. But prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence to file any of those criminal charges, according to a news release.
The Kirchgessners also listed in the lawsuit an oyster bar that Donaldson frequents, one that he and his ex-wife also co-own.
"In the years leading up to the crash, Mr. Donaldson allegedly frequented the bar, and while present was served copious amounts of alcohol despite the staff's knowledge that he had significant struggles with alcohol that resulted in multiple car crashes," Morgan & Morgan said in Wednesday's news release.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the family created the Addie and Baylor Kirchgessner Foundation in an effort to help improve the lives of other children and "the heroes that inspire them," according to the foundation's website.
To learn more about the work being done by the foundation, or to donate, click here.
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