TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford’s pal and one-time occasional driver Alexander “Sandro” Lisi is seeking $1 million in damages for a rear-end car collision, according to court documents obtained by the Toronto Sun.

Lisi is alleging he suffered post-traumatic insomnia, chronic adjustment disorder, pain disorder and has a limited range of motion of his arms and spine since the June 11, 2010, Kipling Ave. collision with a car driven by Marta Abalos and owned by her pal, Maria Nieto.

As a result of what he alleges was a violent collision, Lisi claims he “has sustained a substantial loss of income, loss of the amenities of life” and is unable to participate in social or recreational activities, the documents state.

In a statement of defence filed in court, the two women alleged that Lisi has exaggerated any injuries he might have suffered and failed to provide “the material necessary to evaluate his alleged injuries.”

None of the allegations in the lawsuit, filed last year, have been proven in court.

In a pre-sentence report when Lisi was sentenced in June for threatening to kill his girlfriend, he said the accident caused “some back injuries and I was not able to work.”

The statement about Lisi’s disability seems contrary to a glowing reference letter from Ford when Lisi was sentenced in June for threatening to kill his girlfriend.

The mayor’s letter praised Lisi “for his volunteer work on my 2010 election campaign (after the accident). He was an exemplary member of my campaign team, where he displayed exceptional leadership skills and worked hard both in and out of the campaign office.”

Lawyer R.K. McCartney, who represents both Abalos and Nieto, said he’ll defend this action and will argue that Lisi’s injury claim is exaggerated.

“It’s common in civil lawsuits to take extreme positions. All allegations, both plaintiff’s and defence’s, aren’t proven in court,” McCartney said.

In October, Lisi was charged with marijuana trafficking offences. When Lisi was released from Old City Hall courthouse, he pushed aside a cameraman. He briskly walked and sometimes jogged around the courthouse, into a nearby bar and then the Eaton Centre and north on Bay St. as he attempted to dodge pursuing photographers and reporters. Lisi and an unidentified pal escaped in a taxi.

Lisi was charged last week with extortion for allegedly threatening violence to obtain the Rob Ford crack video.