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147 properties listed in Luzerne County back-tax auction April 26

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New congressional maps challenge Luzerne County election office

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; With a lawsuit filed against him Wednesday, the legal issues for Christopher Ecker are continuing to mount.</p><p>The 30-year-old Hazleton man was hit with vehicular homicide and drunken driving charges in February in connection with the 2017 death of Rose Marie Lombardo, 94.</p><p>Now, he&#8217;s been named as a defendant in a wrongful death suit.</p><p>The suit also names a Hazleton car dealership as a defendant, claiming it was negligent for allowing Ecker to drive the vehicle while intoxicated.</p><p>The estate of the Hazleton woman filed the suit through attorneys Thomas R. Kline and Patrick Fitzgerald of the Philadelphia law firm Kline &amp; Specter.</p><p>According to the suit, Ecker took a vehicle from the Barber Ford dealership in Hazleton, 1112 N. Church St.</p><p>The suit goes on to describe the hours that led up to Lombardo&#8217;s death:</p><p>On June 3, 2017, Ecker spent the time between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Cusat&#8217;s Cafe in Hazleton, consuming alcoholic beverages to the point of intoxication.</p><p>His blood-alcohol level was 0.225 percent, almost three times the .08 driving limit.</p><p>At around 2 p.m., Ecker arrived at Barber Ford to meet John Anthony Craig, an employee there.</p><p>Ecker has taken unsecured keys from the keyboard and driven vehicles from the dealership on &#8220;multiple occasions&#8221; in the past, and he occasionally did this without permission.</p><p>The suit argues someone at Barber Ford should have noticed Ecker was intoxicated.</p><p>But he was able to take the keys to a 2014 Ford Mustang GT 5.0. The suit says Craig took the keys from Ecker, putting them back on the board, but no one removed Ecker from the premises.</p><p>He then took the keys again, this time managing to get the vehicle off the lot.</p><p>Heading westbound on Hazle Township Boulevard, Ecker then allegedly made an illegal U-turn, traveling eastbound at speeds of nearly 113 mph.</p><p>Ecker attempted to pass a 2000 Honda Civic, which was driven by Richard Palushock. Lombardo was a passenger in that vehicle.</p><p>He swerved suddenly into Palushock&#8217;s car, causing it to spin out of control, striking a pole near the road.</p><p>Lombardo had to be extricated from the car and rushed to Lehigh Valley Hazleton &#8212; Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.</p><p>Her estate&#8217;s suit is accusing both Ecker and Barber Ford of negligence, and it seeks compensation for Lombardo&#8217;s death and for her survivors.</p><p>A representative from Barber Ford declined to comment on the litigation.</p><p>In February, Ecker was hit with a slew of charges, including felony counts of homicide by vehicle while under the influence, homicide by vehicle, and two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.</p><p>He&#8217;s also facing numerous misdemeanor counts, including involuntary manslaughter.</p><p>Court records show Ecker is free on $75,000 unsecured bail. He has a preliminary hearing set for April 10.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hazleton man hit with wrongful death lawsuit in fatal crash