Bucci's Will, In re
| Decision Date | 08 October 1968 |
| Citation | 293 N.Y.S.2d 994,57 Misc.2d 1001 |
| Parties | In re BUCCI'S WILL. Application of Frederick V. MARSI, as Executor of the Last Will and Testament of Barbara Ann Bucci, Deceased, for a Determination that said Deceased Survived her Husband, J. Richard Bucci, also known as Joseph Richard Bucci, Deceased. Surrogate's Court, Broome County |
| Court | New York Surrogate Court |
JOHN M. KEANE, Surrogate.
J. Richard Bucci and his wife, Barbara Ann, perished on May 1, 1967 at LaGuardia Airport in his Piper Cherokee airplane when it was in collision with a deHavilland Dove airplane of Yankee Airlines. Fire broke out immediately following the crash and the Piper Cherokee was destroyed by the impact and fire. Both J. Richard and Barbara Ann Bucci were dead when removed from the airplane. In this proceeding the executor of the last will and testament of Barbara Ann Bucci seeks a determination that she survived her husband, J. Richard Bucci.
Two infant children Noel S. Bucci and Megan G. Bucci, survived J. Richard and Barbara Ann Bucci. The wills of both parents have been admitted to probate in this court. The testamentary disposition of each will is identical. Each leaves everything to the other spouse conditioned on survival. Failing that, the property is to be held in trusts for the two children until each attains 30 years of age.
There was introduced into evidence the Civil Aeronautics Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, General Aviation Aircraft; the National Transportation Safety Board factual aircraft accident report--general aviation; photographs showing the two planes following the collision; and detailed autopsy reports for both J. Richard Bucci and Barbara Ann Bucci from the office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York. Finally, testimony was given by two qualified physicians interpreting each autopsy report.
The post mortem report on J. Richard Bucci showed three transections of the aorta, one of which was right above the heart and, additionally, a skull fracture which split the skull in two and crossed through the base of the brain. No carbon monoxide was found in an examination of his blood. It was the opinion of the physicians that J. Richard Bucci died instantaneously.
The injuries to Barbara Ann Bucci, while fatal, were not as severe. The most significant factor appearing in the post mortem...
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