Lawsuit filed over fatal crash - Children of Cherry Hill couple seek damages

By JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff

Thursday, April 14, 2005

The children of a prominent Cherry Hill couple killed in a fiery traffic accident in Florida have sued the tanker-truck driver involved in the crash and his employer.

The lawsuit, if successful, could result in massive financial damages for the deaths of Alan Klein, 52, and his wife, Debbie, 49, the children's attorney said.

"Historically, cases like these result in multimillion-dollar claims," said Ervin A. Gonzalez, a Florida lawyer representing the Kleins' children, Lisa, 20, and Michael, 22. He said damages could be increased because of the gruesome circumstances of the Kleins' deaths, including the fact that Alan Klein survived long enough to run from the car to a nearby pond while engulfed in flames.

The suit alleges negligence by both Floval Oil Corp. and a company driver, Flavio F. Santisteban, 33, of Hialeah, Fla.

The Kleins died Feb. 11 when a tanker truck, driven by Santisteban and carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel, overturned onto their car and burst into flames on a highway entrance ramp in Broward County.

Two other family members - Gloria Halpern, 56, of Potomac, Md., and Anita Epstein, 83, of Coconut Creek, Fla. - also died in the accident.

A police investigation into the accident is still under way, Gonzalez said.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Miami-Dade County, says Santisteban had a record of 10 traffic violations, "including a ticket for driving 80 mph in a 55 mph zone."

"Floval Oil had a duty to know Santisteban's driving record and act accordingly for the safety of others," Gonzalez said.

A Floval spokesman could not be reached.

Alan Klein was president-elect of the Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill.

His wife was a board member at Samost Jewish Family and Children Services.

At the time of the accident, the Kleins were in Florida to visit his father, who is gravely ill.