1/20/14 - Nearly three years after a Milford man drowned trying to save a teen from the Huron River, a lawsuit filed by his family will finally go to court. The suit, filed in Oakland County Circuit Court by the estate of Douglas Killingbeck, seeks damages in excess of $25,000 for each count. It claimed several defendants, including the Village Canoe Rental in Milford, failed to provide adequate warning and fencing near the Huron River dam in Milford. Thatâs where Killingbeck died May 21st of 2011 while trying to save 16-year-old John Przydatek, whose canoe had capsized while on a church trip organized by Knox Presbyterian Church, which was also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to properly supervise the outing and insist the teenager wear a life jacket. Both Killinbeck and Przydatek were pulled below the surface and drowned. The case had been scheduled to go to trial last June in front of Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Phyllis McMillen, but has been delayed by numerous trial motions from the defendants, including one for the Michigan Court of Appeals to get involved, a request that court turned down. It is now scheduled for an April 21st trial date, unless a settlement is reached out of court before then. (JK)
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