By The Associated Press
Miami (AP) -- The reigning Miss Florida is suing the driver of an 18-wheeler that rolled over the car she was riding in, arguing that her extensive injuries threaten her entertainment career.
Shauna Pender, 24, was injured Nov. 7 when a tractor-trailer tipped over and crashed atop a vehicle carrying the St. Petersburg woman to a charity event in Miami. The lawsuit, which seeks $10 million in damages, was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last week.
The lawsuit says Pender's heart stopped briefly and she needed six surgeries during her hospital stay. Her attorney, William Sullivan, said Pender is undergoing rehabilitation in Miami in hopes of resuming her career but can barely walk and can't feed herself or sing.
"She had some acting jobs and appearances" in New York, Sullivan said. "She put that all on hold to become Miss Florida. So she set a timetable to go back to New York in a year and follow her dream."
A spokeswoman for the state beauty pageant said Monday that Pender is still Miss Florida, although there is no schedule for her return. The next Miss Florida will be crowned in June.
Pender finished second this year to Ericka Dunlap, who vacated her Florida throne after winning the Miss America competition. Pender was formally crowned Miss Florida only two weeks before the accident.
The lawsuit alleges that the driver of the tractor-trailer, 37-year-old Reinaldo Rios, wasn't trained properly. It also says the avocados in the cargo trailer weren't loaded correctly and shifted enough to overturn the truck.
Shipping companies Southern Ocean Transport and Maersk were also named in the lawsuit. An attorney for Maersk said the lawsuit was trying to squeeze money from one of Miami's largest shipping companies.
"It is certainly a tragic situation for her, but there is nothing that Maersk did to cause it, or could have done to prevent it," attorney Allan Kelley told The Miami Herald.
A Southern Ocean Transport spokesman didn't immediately return a phone message Tuesday.
-------------
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.