Civil suit filed in death of Albany parks official

OAKLAND -- At age 85, Ruth Meniketti held the record for longest- serving parks and recreation commissioner in Albany.

For 40 years, she gave her time to helping improve parks, creeks and waterfronts, and furthering social causes such as public safety and adult literacy.

It seemed there wasn't anything Meniketti didn't do.

"She had no time for bridge, she didn't golf, and she didn't play tennis," said Berkeley attorney Robert Cheasty, who filed a civil suit earlier this month against the woman who pleaded guilty to drunken driving and is serving jail time for hitting and killing Meniketti last June.

"She was just a generous, good-hearted, giving person who loved the community," Cheasty said. "Even when there were political divisions within the community, she was one of those rare people who was loved by both sides and worked equally well with both for the greater good."

Police say the Albany woman was crossing Marin Avenue at Talbot Avenue on the evening of June 6 when she was struck by a pickup not far from her home on Talbot Avenue.

It was a nice summer night, still light out and warm. Meniketti was out walking when she was hit. She died of blunt force trauma at Highland Hospital in Oakland several hours later, police said.

The driver, Rebecca Rivera, 43, of Oakland, was booked into jail on suspicion of drunken driving, causing bodily injury to another person and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

She pleaded guilty, was later convicted on criminal charges and is serving a three-month jail sentence, according to the victim's son, Marco Meniketti of Castro Valley.

At the time of the collision, Rivera had pizza in the front area of the company truck she was driving, police said. Police said Rivera told officers she looked down for a second to move the pizza.

"She wasn't looking at her pizza ... she was drunk," Cheasty said. "I suspect she was drunk and trying to grab a piece of pizza to eat it."

Earlier this month, Cheasty filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland against Rivera and Gregory Ward, owner of Smart Building Inc. of Oakland. Rivera worked for Smart Building, was driving one of its trucks and was intoxicated when she hit Meniketti, according to the suit, filed for unspecified damages.

Ward was not available for comment Thursday.

The suit is filed on behalf of Nancy Meniketti-Cook and Marco Meniketti, co-executors of the estate of the victim.

"I'm hopeful that it will send a message that drunk driving is not to be tolerated," Marco Meniketti said.

Michael Kronlund, an attorney with Quinn & Kronlund of Stockton who is representing Rivera in the civil case, did not return a call or e-mail request for comment Thursday.

Meniketti held her seat on the Albany Park and Recreation Commission from 1964 until earlier this decade.

The City Council passed a resolution in 1989 honoring Meniketti for 25 consecutive years of service on the Albany panel.

She also volunteered for the Friends of Five Creeks and the Friends of the Albany Library, and was a member of Citizens for the Albany Shoreline and the Sierra Club. She also taught adults how to read.

"She had served the community in many ways for over 40 years," Marsha Skinner, a member of the Friends of the Albany Library's board, said following Meniketti's death last year. "She was always a consistent hard worker behind the scenes."

In 2001, the Albany Chamber of Commerce named Meniketti as Albany Citizen of the Year.

This is not the first time Cheasty has gone after a drunken driver. In 2006, the attorney helped win a $53 million judgment after trial for Theresa Johnson, an Oakland motorist who in July 2005 was hit by drunken driver Tyrone Hazel while she was on her way to work. She survived, but had a crushed pelvis and punctured lungs. She has not seen any of the money yet, Cheasty said.

Contact Kristin Bender at kbender@bayareanewsgroup.com or 510- 208-6453.

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