By Dean Kahn
of the Herald staff

Opening arguments were heard Wednesday in a $6 million auto-crash lawsuit that city officials fear could force them to make local roads "drunk-proof."

The plaintiff, William Everson, was permanently paralyzed after his father crashed into a large maple tree alongside Eldridge Avenue six years ago. His father, Gary, died a few hours later.

The city’s concern about the case was made clear by Mayor Tim Douglas’ presence near the front of the courtroom Wednesday. During a recess, the mayor said he feared the city could be hit with "horrendous costs" if it must design and build roads to prevent harm to drunken drivers.

"It’s a very important case for the city," he said.

Everson’s attorney, Jeff Grant of Seattle, contends the city should have removed the tree from Eldridge Avenue before Gary Everson, who had been drinking, crashed into it the morning of June 28, 1981.

Grant told jurors that city engineers were aware of traffic problems along Eldridge: There were 35 accidents on the road during a three-year span in which drivers ran into poles, trees and other roadside objects. In 1973, he said, another driver died after crashing into a tree next to the maple tree the Eversons hit, just south of the "S" curve where Marine Drive becomes Eldridge Avenue.

"The city knew that people drank and drove along that road. They knew that people hit that tree," Grant said. "Bill (Everson) was the profile accident that the city knew about and could have done something about."

Dean Brett, a private Bellingham attorney hired by the city to defend it, said the tree, which is 12 feet 7 inches from the road, is within the standard 10- to 15-foot safety distance for streets with posted speeds below 50 mph.

"(Everson’s station wagon) was going to hit something," he said. "It happened to hit this tree. What caused this accident was speed and alcohol."

Brett said city engineers were concerned about drunken drivers leaving the nearby Cocoanut Grove tavern, 710 Marine Drive, and having accidents on Eldridge Avenue. But the city isn’t liable for the safety of drivers like Gary Everson, who was drinking heavily and speeding before the crash, he argued.

"It was not that the driver was so intoxicated he couldn’t stay on the road," Brett said. "He was so intoxicated he couldn’t miss the tree."

The trial before Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Marshall Forrest is expected to last several weeks. It began Tuesday with selection of the five women and seven men of the jury.

William Everson is attending the trial strapped to his automated wheelchair. During Brett’s talk to the jury, he maneuvered his chair for a better view by nudging a control prong with his chin.

Grant acknowledged that Gary Everson went off the road because he had been drinking. Tests show Gary Everson had a 0.22 blood-alcohol level two hours after the crash. That’s more than twice the level of legal intoxication for drivers.

"Gary wasn’t just intoxicated," Brett said. "He was drunk. He was falling-down drunk."

William Everson says he and his father had two drinks apiece before the crash, Grant said. Everson’s stepmother, Rose, will testify her husband had two drinks and that she had seen him at home until 90 minutes before the accident, he said.

However, Brett said the police officer who informed Rose Everson of the accident will testify she said her husband and stepson had been out partying.

A Bellingham patient who happened to share a hospital room with Everson in Seattle also will testify Everson said he and his father had been "bar hopping" and that his dad drove off the road after passing out or falling asleep, Brett said.

Police estimate Gary Everson was traveling 68 to 70 miles an hour before the crash. The posted limit is 25 mph, with a recommended speed of 20 mph on the curve.

Everson’s vehicle scraped a road sign, severed a utility pole and flattened another sign before it smacked into the tree.

"That car careened all over the road," Brett said.

Grant said a key piece of evidence is a Feb. 7, 1980, memo from City Engineer Tom Rosenberg to then Mayor Ken Hertz.

The memo said Eldridge Avenue may be the "most dangerous" stretch of roadway in the city because of drunken drivers. The memo speculates that an increase in accidents along Eldridge Avenue in 1979 was linked to the reopening of the Cocoanut Grove.

City statistics show there were 80 accidents on Eldridge Avenue from 1977 through 1979. More than one-third of the drivers involved hit such "fixed objects" as trees, posts and other items off the road.

Brett replied that the memo reflected concerns about the tavern. The city properly dealt with the problem by discussing the matter with the club’s owner, and by repaving, widening and making other improvements to the curve, he said.

"You can’t make roads drunk-proof," Brett said.