2 Toledo workers struck by trailer

7/4/2006

Two city of Toledo Department of Neighborhoods employees were hurt yesterday - one when her ankle was run over by a trailer on a pickup truck, the other when he was pinned between the trailer and a parked car during an incident in the south end.

Sue Frederick, manager of code enforcement, was in fair condition at University Medical Center after her ankle was injured during the incident about noon on Nela Parkway. Mike Bombrys, a seasonal supervisor, was to be examined at Occuhealth for a swollen knee, police said.

Jeremy Goldthwaite, 26, of 1009 Nela, who police said was driving the pickup, was not charged. The incident remains under investigation.

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, during an unrelated news conference, said the two employees were there to tow junk cars after repeated complaints from neighbors. "They were injured when a disgruntled property owner assaulted them with his vehicle," the mayor alleged.

Police said the two workers were towing the pickup when Mr. Goldthwaite disagreed about whether they could take it. He jumped in the pickup and backed up, police said.

Police are investigating exactly how Ms. Frederick, 49, was hurt but said the trailer ran over her ankle. Mr. Bombrys, 38, was getting out of a car when he tried to get out of the way and was pinned between the trailer and a parked car.

Mr. Goldthwaite fled but returned and was interviewed by police when officers contacted him and requested he come back, authorities said.

Ms. Frederick in April was convicted of failure to aid a law enforcement officer after pleading no contest to the charge stemming from a Dec. 28, 2005, incident.

She argued with the owner of a legally parked vehicle and threatened to have the vehicle towed during that incident in the 800 block of Geneva Avenue. After police asked her to stop, she continued and was arrested.

Mr. Bombrys, a former police sergeant, was relieved of his duties in late 2004 when he fired several shots from his department-issued handgun and drove erratically outside his home.

Authorities said then they believed his medical condition as an insulin-dependent diabetic was the cause of his behavior.