Former CR pilot wins jury award

A former Cedar Rapids helicopter pilot has been awarded over 800-thousand dollars in a lawsuit over a crash four years ago. A Linn County jury awarded 45-year-old Kevin Lynch the money for extensive burns and head injuries he suffered in the crash. Lynch had sought three million dollars for negligence, gross negligence and punitive damages from Cedar Rapids Aviation Department Director John Sadler, mechanic Alan Gross and police supervisor Joseph Cerruto. The jury determined that Sadler was 50-percent to blame, Gross was 25-percent and Lynch himself was 25-percent at fault. The jury awarded the entire 830-thousand dollars for the negligence accusation, but nothing for the two other claims.