Attempt to stay lawsuit in fatal hit-and-run denied

WILKES-BARRE — A motion to stay a wrongful death lawsuit against a man accused of fleeing after fatally striking a construction worker on I-81 was denied last week, after a brief from the plaintiff pointed to “shocking” phone transcripts.

Zachary Gerbino, 27, is facing criminal charges of accidents involving death and tampering or fabricating evidence after police say he struck and killed Kevin DenDulk, 30, on Aug. 1 while DenDulk was working as a construction worker on the interstate.

Gerbino allegedly fled the scene and police say he was in the process of disassembling his vehicle when it was found at his home.

He is scheduled to appear before Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough on the criminal charges on April 8.

Gerbino is being sued by DenDulk’s family, who are represented by attorneys Neil T. O’Donnell and Gerald W. Gaughan. Gerbino attempted to have the suit’s proceedings temporarily stayed, but records show his motion was denied at least until April 5 by Vough last week after a review of a brief filed by O’Donnell and Gaughan.

In their brief, the attorneys argued there is no reason to stay proceedings as, in their words, “there is no overlap between the issues present in the criminal case and those to be decided in the civil case.”

“The only issues to be decided in the civil action are Plaintiff’s damages, the amount of alcohol Gerbino imbibed on the night of July 31, 2020, and into the early morning hours of Aug. 1, 2020, and whether Zachary Gerbino was visibly intoxicated at any point when he was served ten alcoholic beverages by the Fourth Street Pub,” the brief reads in part, adding that Gerbino was not charged with any alcohol-related offenses in the criminal action.

The attorneys point in part to recordings of phone calls Gerbino made to his mother, Lea Gerbino, while Gerbino was in the county lockup on the charges. The attorneys call the conversations “shocking,” adding that they are “littered with admissions.”

On one of the calls, recorded on Aug. 19, 2020, the attorneys say Gerbino and his mother discussed lies to get him out of the charges.

“Oh, well, I can’t say too much over the phone, but did you go with the deer story?” the transcript says Lea Gerbino said.

“Yeah, I thought I hit a deer,” allegedly came Gerbino’s response.

“And you didn’t know until the next day … You didn’t know what you hit,” she responds. “And you took the car apart, but, you know, just stick to the same story.”

The suit also names Gerbino’s grandmother, Patricia A. Sando, claiming she lied to police in order to help cover for Gerbino.