Family of man killed in pedicab accident files civil claim

The family of a Connecticut man who was killed after he was thrown from a pedicab in downtown Seattle more than a year ago has filed a civil claim against the pedicab company.

An attorney for the family of Peter Dzioba, of New Britain, Conn., filed the wrongful-death claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, in King County Superior Court on Monday.

There is no specific dollar figure cited in the claim filed against Cascadia Cabs of Seattle.

Dzioba, 60, was thrown from his seat when the driver of the pedicab was unable to brake for a red light at Cedar Street and Western Avenue on Aug. 6, 2008. The pedicab hit a scooter and then hit a minivan, which ran over Dzioba, said Reed Schifferman, the family's attorney.

Dzioba died at the scene, police said. His wife, Mary Dzioba, was also thrown from the pedicab but landed to the left of the minivan.

The pedicab driver, identified in the claim as Matthew Wilson, was also struck by the van but survived, police said.

The crash happened during Wilson's first day on the job, Schifferman said.

Ryan Hashagen, who owned Cascadia Cabs until the company went out of business in October, said that he has been unable to test the brakes on the pedicab because it is being examined by an engineering firm he hired. Hashagen said he is confident the brakes were working and that the driver was traveling at a safe speed.

Schifferman said that Cascadia Cabs had purchased the two-seat pedicab from the Ningbo Nanyang corporation, a Chinese manufacturer, just before the accident. He said that the cab's brakes "were a terrible design" and had "the least stopping force available."

"I'm not sure if the driver knew how terrible the brakes were," Schifferman said. "These were totally inadequate; something was going to happen when somebody got badly hurt."

Seattle police investigated the collision, but Hashagen said that his firm was never cited. Police did not return calls for comment Monday.

Hashagen said that Cascadia Cabs, which also operated in Bellingham; Vancouver, B.C.; and Eugene, Ore., went out of business because of the economy.

"I hope that the courts will be able to find a truthful outcome to the events that occurred," Hashagen said. "It's definitely tragic."

In addition to Cascadia Cabs, the suit names the Ningbo Nanyang corporation.

"If you are going to make something that transports the public, it has got to be able to stop safely," Schifferman said. "If you are going to buy something that's going to stop the public, buy something that stops safely. The manufacturer and the pedicab company failed to do their jobs."

In a statement released Monday, Mary Dzioba said that the couple's trip to Seattle was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

"We were on a trip celebrating our life together. And instead, I ended up mourning his death," the statement said. "This should have never happened to us, and I want to ensure that it will never happen to another family."

Dzioba, a father of four, worked as a chemical engineer.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294