Family sues auto club for woman's murder

BOSTON — In the summer of 1999, AAA got a call about a young woman whose car had broken down in a parking lot on Cape Cod. The auto club told the woman's stepfather it would send help.

Melissa Gosule never made it home.

Her body was found buried eight days later. She had been raped and stabbed.

Gosule's family sued AAA for unspecified damages, claiming that if the auto club had done its job that night, she would be alive today. Jury selection began yesterday in state court in Plymouth, south of Boston, in the negligence and wrongful-death case.

The case is being watched closely because it is the first time AAA has been sued in the death of a motorist who was killed after seeking assistance from the auto club, legal experts said.

Every year, the American Automobile Association, which has a dues-paying membership of more than 46 million in the United States and Canada, gets about 30 million calls from motorists who need help with dead batteries, flat tires and other roadside problems.

In their lawsuit, Gosule's parents, Leslie Gosule and Sandra Glaser, and her stepfather, Peter Glaser, claim AAA left Gosule stranded, forcing her to turn to a stranger for help. That stranger, Michael Gentile, killed her.

"Had AAA done what they tell the world they do and what they said they were going to do — provide reliable and reasonable emergency roadside assistance that night — Melissa would still be with us," Leslie Gosule said recently in a statement.

Gosule's parents note that AAA, in its marketing materials, touts the peace of mind it provides to motorists in trouble. "One call to AAA and your worries are over," reads one brochure. AAA also refers to itself as "family" and warns against depending on strangers: "In today's world, relying on strangers has become a scary (and sometimes dangerous) thing to do."

The lawsuit names the national AAA; its local affiliate, AAA Southern New England; and the tow-truck driver.

AAA disputes the family's claims that it did not offer Gosule help, and says it should not be held responsible for her death. Gentile was convicted of her murder and is now serving a life sentence.

On July 11, 1999, Gosule, a 27-year-old elementary-school teacher, had returned at 5:30 p.m. from a bike ride to find that her 1986 Pontiac would not start.

It was about that time that she met Gentile, according to testimony during Gentile's trial in 2000.

Gosule used Gentile's cellphone to call her mother and stepfather, who told her he would call AAA for help.

In their lawsuit, Gosule's family says her stepfather immediately called the AAA's 24-hour emergency roadside-assistance number and asked that the car and Gosule be taken to a garage in Boston. John Cubellis, a tow-truck driver whose company is an agent for AAA, arrived at the parking lot about 90 minutes later.

According to both sides, Cubellis told Gosule that he was busy and that it would be three to four hours before he could take her or her car to Boston, about 60 miles away. The Gosule family says Cubellis did not try to start the young woman's car, make sure she was taken to a safe location or call another AAA driver to help.

Gosule then accepted a ride from Gentile.

In court papers, AAA says Cubellis had no reason to believe Gosule was in danger. She was in a busy parking lot, with restaurants, a gas station and a fire station nearby. AAA says Gosule could have taken a taxi or had a relative pick her up.

In a statement, Robert Murray, a spokesman for AAA Southern New England called Gosule's death a "terrible tragedy."

"Our hearts go out to Melissa Gosule's family and friends," he said. "In our history, we have never seen a case like this. We believe the auto club will be properly and completely exonerated."