A 25-year-old model is suing billionaire, financier Chinh Chu after she crashed and broke her pelvis in a zipline accident during a garden party on his estate.
25-year-old Serbian model Simona Andrejic has sued 53-year-old CC Capital director, and former managing director of Blackstone, billionaire Chinh Chu for several millions of dollars, her lawyer stated, Page Six reported.
Andrejic, a model who has strolled the catwalks for Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, and Calvin Klein, and appeared on the cover of Elle Serbia was invited with other young models to a garden party on July 17 on Chu’s estate at Westchester, New York.
At the party, Andrejic took a zipline ride provided for guests. The ride did not stop properly and sent Andrejic into a tree at full speed, according to a police report obtained by DailyMail.com.
The crash left her hanging on a platform approximately 50 feet above the ground before rescue workers could save her.
Model Simona Andrejic injured on billionaire Chinh Chu’s garden zip line https://t.co/dVIzI5qbV6 pic.twitter.com/QEoTHobQv6
— Page Six (@PageSix) August 21, 2019
It was reported, Andrejic suffered a fractured pelvis, several lacerations requiring stitches, and is momentarily confined to a wheelchair.
Page Six reported that Chu said he “would take care” of Andrejic and offered her several thousands of dollars per month for a period of one year to cover any costs. According to insiders, this was pocket money to Chu. He also offered her the use of his Rolls Royce vehicle for transportation to the hospital and clinics, when needed, and to pay for a luxury hotel.
Andrejic declined Chu’s offer, whereupon one of Chu’s aids reportedly threatened, “to cut off the payments for her medical care and hotel,” Page Six reported.
Andrejic has hired attorney Salvatore Strazzullo who filed the lawsuit against Chu seeking millions in compensation for her sustained injuries.
“Simona has devastating injuries,” Strazzullo, told Page Six. “She cannot work and is in substantial pain. She should be fairly compensated within the law.”
Andrejic was transported to a local hospital before being airlifted to Yale New Haven Hospital. She is now, reportedly, unable to walk and can not work nor enter her walk-up apartment in New York.
Zipline rides can be dangerous if strict safety guidelines are not followed. To the day exact, three years ago a woman died at a zipline accident in Delaware, Reuters reported.
Woman Dies After Falling From Zip Line Ride at Delaware Park
DOVER, Del.—A woman who fell 35 feet to her death from a zip line platform after disconnected herself from the safety system, the attraction’s operator said on August 25, 2016.
Delaware State Police are investigating how Tina Werner fell off the platform at the Go Ape Tree Top Adventure attraction in Lums Pond State Park the day before.
Participants at the Go Ape courses are equipped with climbing harnesses and two sets of ropes with carabiners that must be clipped and unclipped to safety wires in sequence as they move through the trees.
Werner, 59, of Felton, had completed the required safety training, and was nearing the end of the course when she fell, said Jeff Davis, a spokesman for Go Ape. The attraction in Bear spans seven acres and includes four zip lines and a variety of swings, rope ladders, bridges, and trapezes.
“Participant witnesses have stated that at the time of the accident the participant had unfortunately disconnected herself from the safety system,” Davis said in an email.
An inspection found the course and associated safety equipment was in sound operating condition, and that “nothing was broken or unserviceable,” Davis wrote.
“The Go Ape company is extremely saddened by this,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report
