Parents of Amana teen killed in crash sue teenage driver

The parents of a 14-year-old Clear Creek Amana High School student killed in a car accident near Tiffin in October are suing the 18-year-old driver of the car she was in and the owner of that vehicle.

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Johnson County District Court, Zachary Swenka is at fault for the injuries to and death of Mackenzie Lown because he operated his vehicle recklessly, drove at an excessive speed and failed to maintain control.

Swenka had five passengers in the 1996 Chevrolet Lumina he was driving Oct. 17 on Highway 6 near Tiffin  – including Lown – when he accelerated to an “extremely high rate of speed while traveling through an ‘S' curve and crossing a bridge,” according to the lawsuit.

Swenka reached an estimated speed of 100 mph in a 55 mph zone when the vehicle he was driving veered to the right and then swerved back, crossing the center line and colliding with an oncoming minivan, the lawsuit states.

Part of the left rear section of Swenka's car was torn off and Lown, who was sitting on the left side of the rear seat and was wearing a seatbelt, was ejected and suffered fatal injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Lown's parents, Michael Lown and Kelly Smith, also are suing Lillian Olson, who they allege owned the car Swenka was driving and gave him consent to use it.

They are seeking compensation for Lown's pain and suffering, lost accumulation of her estate by virtue of her premature death, interest on funeral and burial expenses, and loss of companionship and society.

Swenka does not face criminal charges in connection with the crash.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, all of the teenagers who were in Swenka's car at the time of the crash were injured. Chloe Keith, 14, Dustin Cox, 14, Daniel Brechtel, 15 and Swenka were taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics via ambulance. Claire Riggan, 14, was airlifted to the hospital, according to troopers.

The two people in the minivan – Bryan Scott Cooling, 47, and Toni Harney Cooling, 42, both of Oxford – also were injured and taken to UIHC.

The current condition of those who were injured is unknown.

At least a dozen Clear Creek Amana High School students witnessed the fatal crash.

Lown's high school peers have created a Facebook page in tribute of the teen. Friends continue to post remembrances to that page, and Michael Lown last week made an appeal to parents on that Facebook page for help changing a state law regarding teenage driving.

The proposed change, he wrote, would address the number of passengers a teenage driver can have in a car at one time.

“The risk of fatal accidents increases by 39 percent with one additional passenger and by 86 percent with two or more,” he wrote.

After the accident, three area high school football teams – Clear Creek Amana, Mount Vernon and Solon – also remembered Lown

by wearing special decals on their helmets in her honor.