The insurer of the building in Adams Township that was struck in a fatal August 2022 crash involving two garbage trucks is suing both refuse companies for damages to the building.

The Cincinnati Insurance Co. of Ohio filed the lawsuit last week against Vogel Disposal Services of Mars and Waste Management, which has management offices in Ambridge and Houston, Texas, seeking nearly $130,000, and possibly more.

A Vogel Disposal truck driven by Mark E. Seybert, 51, of Slippery Rock, was struck in the rear-end by a Waste Management truck driven by David Bortmes, 53, of Karns City, at 4:28 a.m. Aug. 26, 2022, on Mars Valencia Road.

Bortmes, who was married and had two children, died as a result of the crash and his widow has filed a suit against Vogel and Seybert, and Seybert has been charged with misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and summary citations for careless driving and failing to yield. Both cases are pending in court.

The crash sent at least one of the trucks into a building at 441 Mars Valencia Road owned by Spagnolo Properties, causing damages for which Cincinnati Insurance has paid Spagnolo $129,988 to date, with as much as $22,511 in possible additional payments.

Adams Township police said Seybert was attempting to make a 180-degree left turn onto the road when there were options to make the turn safely. The affidavit said Seybert’s actions showed “gross negligence.”

Bortmes, who was 53, was driving a 2019 Mack refuse truck north on Mars Valencia Road around the same time Seybert had just made a trash pickup at 441 Mars Valencia Road in a 2015 Mack refuse truck, according to the wrongful death suit.

Seybert drove the truck perpendicular to and across both traffic lanes without using hazard lights or another means of warning other vehicles, according to the suit.

Bortmes’s truck approached Seybert’s truck, which was blocking the road, and tried to avoid a collision by turning right into the lot at 441 Mars Valencia Road that Seybert had just pulled out of, but instead hit Seybert’s truck and a building, according to the suit.

Bortmes suffered catastrophic injuries after being pinned in the truck by a collapsed dashboard and steering wheel. He remained conscious and was talking to emergency responders at the scene. However, he suffered a heart attack when rescuers began to extract him from the truck, and he was later pronounced dead at UPMC Passavant Hospital in Cranberry Township, according to the suit.

Neither Vogel or Waste Management could be reached for comment.