PHILADELPHIA - The estate of a woman killed when a piece of metal came through her windshield while driving is suing Safelite.
Safelite, a renowned auto glass company, is facing a lawsuit filed Feb. 19 by Anthony M. Panichelli in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
The case involves multiple defendants including Safelite Autoglass, Safelite Glass Corp., Safelite Fulfillment, Inc., Safelite Group, Inc., Fuyao Glass America, Inc., and Kenneth Hedgespeth. They have removed the case to federal court.
The plaintiff is represented by Larry E. Coben from Anapol Weiss law firm.
The suit says Panichelli's wife and mother of their two children, Cara Mia Francesca Panichelli, died on June 12, 2023. Four years earlier, she had a replacement front windshield from Safelite installed on her Subaru.
But on Interstate 95, a piece of metal struck the windshield, "which failed to prevent intrusion and tore apart," the suit says. The metal went through the windshield and struck Cara in her chest, the suit says.
The Subaru collided with another vehicle and struck a concrete barrier. Cara died from blunt trauma to her chest, the suit says.