Olathe ? A suburban Kansas City woman acquitted of causing her friend’s death in a traffic accident is now suing the friend’s estate.

The mother of the dead woman responded by filing a wrongful death suit against Hanna Sandbeck, 21, of Lenexa.

Both lawsuits were filed last month in Johnson County District Court.

Both Sandbeck and Laura Geraghty were 19 when the fatal wreck happened on the morning of July 16, 2004, as the two returned from a night out.

Their Jeep Cherokee went off Interstate 35 in Lenexa and hit a concrete barrier.

Prosecutors said Sandbeck was driving drunk. But in February, she was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter after her attorneys brought in expert witnesses to testify that Geraghty was driving.

Geraghty’s boyfriend also testified during the trial that he put Geraghty in the driver’s seat and shut the door less than 15 minutes before the crash. He said Sandbeck was asleep in the passenger’s seat.

Sandbeck’s lawsuit also contends that Geraghty was driving and caused the accident through negligence. It claims that Sandbeck suffered “serious, permanent and disabling bodily and mental injuries,” and seeks damages of more than $75,000.

The dead woman’s mother, Christy Geraghty, said she had expected for months that Sandbeck might sue. She would not have filed her lawsuit had Sandbeck not sued her daughter’s estate, Christy Geraghty said.

“I just don’t want her to get money off of Laura’s death,” Christy Geraghty said. “That basically is what it boiled down to.”