Women injured in Napa crash accuse Rolls-Royce driver who hit them of 'rage, aggression'

"Annamarie Thammala and Veronnica Pansanouck were crossing First Street in Napa on Nov. 25, 2024, and were about to step onto the far sidewalk when Thomas ran them over at a high rate of speed in his 2023 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, according to authorities. Thomas, then 78, was making a right turn from a stop sign at School Street, and according to an investigative report prepared by the Napa Police Department, mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake."

"Thammala, 29, was thrown into the air and crushed beneath a tree that had been severed by the vehicle, according to the plaintiffs. She suffered multiple fractures, including spinal injuries that have left her paralyzed from the waist down. Pansanouck, 31, wound up pinned underneath the vehicle; she sustained multiple spinal fractures in her back and legs, requiring several surgeries."

"In a complaint filed Tuesday in Napa County Superior Court, the women accuse the driver, Robert Knox Thomas, of negligence at a minimum while contending that elements of road rage were at play in the Thanksgiving week crash that left them with grave physical injuries and emotional trauma. "Defendant's conduct was not the result of inattention, distraction, or mistake," the complaint alleges. "It was the culmination of rage, aggression, and a deliberate disregard for human life.""

On Nov. 25, 2024, two women were struck in a Napa crosswalk by a 2023 Rolls-Royce Cullinan driven by 78-year-old Robert Knox Thomas during a right turn from a stop sign. Investigators report Thomas mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake and security video shows the SUV accelerating through the pedestrians and crashing into a restaurant. Annamarie Thammala suffered multiple fractures and spinal injuries leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Veronnica Pansanouck sustained multiple spinal fractures and required several surgeries. Both plaintiffs continue treatment, will require lifelong medical care, and allege negligence and elements of road rage.

Read at The Mercury News