The mother of Ryan Brecko, the Baker City Fire Department firefighter who died in a 2023 vehicle collision, has filed a $4.5 million wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against both the owner and the driver of the pickup truck that crashed into the motorcycle Brecko was riding on March 12, 2023.

Nadine Flath, Brecko’s mother, of Portland, filed the lawsuit Tuesday, March 11, in Baker County Circuit Court.

The defendants are Robert Drinkard, who was driving the Ford F-350 pickup truck that collided with Brecko’s motorcycle on the I-84 overpass at the Medical Springs interchange about 6 miles north of Baker City, and Drinkard’s daughter, Stacey Lee Driskell, who owns the pickup, according to the lawsuit.

Flath, who is represented by Damien Yervasi of Baker City, is seeking non-economic damages of $2.5 million, related to the “agony” he experienced due to his injuries, according to the lawsuit. Flath also is asking for economic damages of approximately $2 million, for medical expenses and lost wages, as well as $20,000 for Brecko’s burial expenses.

Brecko, 27, a part-time paid volunteer firefighter, died about three hours after the crash, according to the lawsuit.

Drinkard was initially charged with criminally negligent homicide.

On May 24, 2024, Drinkard pleaded guilty to reckless driving in a plea agreement with the Baker County District Attorney’s office. District Attorney Greg Baxter dismissed the criminally negligent homicide charge.

Baxter said at the time that Brecko’s family “participated fully” in a settlement conference.

“It was a very difficult situation because a young man lost his life due to Mr. Drinkard’s negligent behavior,” Baxter said. “However, he had no criminal history. I thought the judge came up with a well-crafted agreement that held Mr. Drinkard accountable but also justice for Mr. Brecko. I believe everybody left the courtroom believing that an appropriate amount of justice was served, even though there were no winners and losers in this situation.”

Although court records list Drinkard’s address in Moro, in Sherman County in north central Oregon, according to the lawsuit he was driving east on I-84 toward his home in Idaho on the day of the crash that killed Brecko.

Driskell also lives in Idaho, according to the lawsuit, and she allowed her father to drive the pickup.

The collision
According to Oregon State Police, Brecko was riding his 2020 Harley-Davidson motorcycle east on the Highway 203 overpass over the freeway at exit 298 at around 1 p.m. on March 12, 2023.

Drinkard, then 77, was exiting the freeway in a 2007 Ford F-350 pickup truck. Drinkard drove past the stop sign at the top of the offramp and into the highway, where his pickup struck Brecko’s motorcycle. Brecko was thrown from the motorcycle in the collision.

An Oregon State Police trooper was parked nearby, saw the crash and immediately responded to the scene. The trooper called an ambulance and gave emergency medical care to Brecko, who was taken to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City, where he later died.

Drinkard remained on scene and cooperated with investigators, according to OSP.

During Drinkard’s arraignment in April 2023, Baker County District Attorney Greg Baxter said Drinkard was having an issue with the canopy on his pickup truck as he was exiting the freeway. Baxter said Drinkard saw the state trooper who was parked near the offramp, and that Drinkard was intending to ask the trooper for help with the canopy issue.

Drinkard then accelerated through the stop sign, Baxter said.

The lawsuit contends that “Drinkard’s negligence was the cause of decedent Brecko’s injuries and, later, his death.”

The lawsuit also alleges that “Drinkard’s conduct in failing to stop for the stop sign and continuing through the intersection constituted a conscious disregard for the rules of the road and the harm it could cause.”

The lawsuit also cites the canopy issue that Baxter mentioned, although the lawsuit describes it as a “torneau” cover (usually spelled “tonneau,” this accessory fits over the top of a pickup bed.

According to the lawsuit, the tonneau cover had a broken latch.

Driskell, as the pickup’s owner, “knew or should have known that the Ford F-350 had a loose or broken Tourneau cover that needed repair when she consented to Drinkard driving it to Oregon,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also alleges that Drinkard ‘had a history of moving violations stretching back years.”