Bevy Of Lawsuits Filed In E-Bike Vs. Truck Accident In Nantucket Superior Court

Island resident Jonathan Heneke filed a lawsuit in September of 2024 seeking over $50,000 in damages on behalf of his son who was involved in an e-bike accident in July of 2023 that left the child with “serious and permanent injuries." The boy was riding as a passenger on an e-bike that his friend was operating when they collided with a 2017 Ford Transit on Somerset Road. The lawsuit accuses Sergio Estevez Mejia and Richard Tejada (the operator and the owner of the Ford Transit, respectively), along with Michael Occhiuto (the father of the boy who was operating the e-bike) of negligence.

But in December, the plot began to thicken when Gina Heneke filed a third party complaint alleging that Jonathan Heneke deserved a share of the blame for the accident because he was negligent in his supervision of their child and that as a result, she should be entitled to all of the compensation he receives should he win in court.

Now this past week, Occhiuto has broken his silence and filed a counter lawsuit on behalf of his son alleging that every party in the crash was acting negligently aside from his child, who he says “was exercising due care at all times” while operating the e-bike. Occhiuto is seeking $120,178.52 in the lawsuit, over twice as much as Heneke originally sought.

The question becomes, who is at fault?

The litigation, in a nutshell, underscores the complexity of accidents involving e-bikes, and who can be held accountable for damages when they happen. The crash occurred while the two boys were traveling eastbound on Manchester Circle on the e-bike as they entered the intersection of Somerset Road and Roberts Lane. At that same time, Mejia was operating the Ford Transit (owned by Tejada) and traveling northbound on Somerset Road.

Jonathan Heneke alleges that Mejia had permission to drive the Ford Transit from Tejada and at around 1:15 p.m. on July 13, 2023, the accident occurred. He accused Mejia of not paying attention to his surroundings and that Tejada is responsible under Massachusetts law for the actions of Mejia after willingly lending him his vehicle to operate.

As for Occhiuto’s son, Heneke said he was operating the e-bike and owed a duty to his son to operate the e-bike safely, to be paying proper attention to his surroundings, to avoid distractions, and accused Occhiuto’s son of unsafely entering an intersection – which he says led to the collision.

Gina Heneke made the same allegations against Tejada, Mejia, and Occhiuto’s child in her third party complaint, but adds that Jonathan Heneke was entrusted with taking care of their child and supervising him, but failed to do so properly.

“On or about July 13, 2023, as a result of Jonathan Heneke’s negligent supervision and lack of appropriate care, (their son) was given or otherwise gained access to, and used the subject electric bike. The injury and consequential damages sustained by the plaintiff, if any, were the direct and proximate result of the negligence of third-party defendant, Jonathan Heneke.”

Then on April 11^th, Michael Occhiuto filed his lawsuit on behalf of his son seeking over $120,000 while expressing his frustration with Jonathan Heneke’s actions. He said Heneke was the one who purchased, assembled, and modified the e-bike involved, and that when Heneke gave his son the e-bike in July of 2023, knew or should have known his son was not competent to manage, operate, or control it – citing a pair of text messages he received from Heneke.

“On or about July 12^th, 2023, the defendant Jonathan Heneke texted (Michael Occhiuto), sending a picture of an electric bicycle with his son sitting on it and stating ‘(my son’s) new death mobile’” Occhiuto’s says in his lawsuit. “In the next text message, (Heneke) states, ‘I’m scared.’”

The next day, Occhiuto said that Heneke’s son went to the Occhiuto household and offered his son/urged his son to take the e-bike for a ride with Heneke’s son as a passenger. Occhiuto’s son eventually obliged, and the accident proceeded to take place shortly after.

Occhiuto says his son incurred more than $2,000 in reasonable and necessary medical expenses, and that he sustained “serious personal injuries, including permanent injuries, a period of disability, underwent substantial medical treatment, incurred medical expenses including future medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and experienced pain and suffering.”

All parties are demanding a jury trial.