Lawsuit Settled in Case of Hebron Teacher Hit and Killed Outside School

The estate of seventh-grade RHAM teacher Dawn Mallory-Bushor has settled a lawsuit filed against the driver who had allegedly been drinking when she backed into Mallory in the school parking lot last march, causing the injuries that killed her.

The lawsuit has been settled for $1.1 million, the maximum amount of insurance covering driver Elizabeth Everett, according to the Reardon Law Firm of New London, which represents Mallory's estate.

Mallory, 65, was walking across the parking lot the morning of March 14, 2014 when she was struck. Court documents say Everett, of Hebron, was dropping off her son at the high school when she accidentally entered the bus lane and tried to back out, hitting Mallory.

Everett was charged with felony misconduct with a motor vehicle and unsafe backing. Police said she had been drinking prior to the crash, and her blood alcohol content was just shy of the legal limit, according to the warrant for her arrest.

Mallory was rushed to Windham Hospital and died two weeks later when she was taken off life support. The crash prompted the town of Hebron to alter traffic patterns outside the school.

"Dawn Mallory was beloved by her students, faculty and parents at RHAM School and the entire Hebron community has grieved her loss," attorney Joseph Barnes said in a statement Tuesday. "Her family and friends have gone through a painful ordeal over the last year and it has become apparent that, while Dawn’s death was a hug loss to her community, it is time to bring closure to this chapter of the case and accept all of the insurance that Elizabeth Everett had covering her and her car, as Ms. Everett has no other significant assets."

Barnes said the law firm will continue investigating "as to other sources of recovery regarding the parking lot design and the supervision of traffic that morning and the family will await the finalization of the criminal case against Everett before deciding if there is further recourse for Dawn’s death."

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