KEEP YOUR TRUCK
CLEAN AND DO NOT COVER THE REFLECTIVE TAPES. OHIO COURT OF APPEALS:
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY TO PAY $4 MILLION FOR FATAL CRASH. DIRT OBSCURED MUCH OF THE BACK OF THE TRUCK,
INCLUDING THE LICENSE-PLATE AREA AND REFLECTIVE TAPE THAT HAD BEEN PLACED ON
THE BACK OF THE TRUCK
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) - An appeals court has ruled a
Cincinnati construction company must pay $4 million to the family of a
Tennessee couple killed when they slammed into the back of a dump truck
entering an interstate in a construction zone.
A Warren County jury in 2013 found John R. Jergensen Co.
was 25 percent liable for the 2009 accident that killed Nicholas and Amanda
Poe. Nicholas Poe was found to be 51 percent responsible, while the Ohio
Department of Transportation was 24 percent liable. A dump truck entered the
left lane on Interstate 75 in Warren County and traveled about 25 seconds
before the Poes’ vehicle crashed into the back of it at 79 mph.
The company sought to overturn that verdict, arguing
Nicholas Poe was solely responsible, but the 12th Ohio District Court of
Appeals on Monday upheld the judgment, saying the company could’ve taken steps
to reduce chances of an accident.
Evidence photos "indicated that dirt obscured much
of the back of the truck, including the license-plate area and reflective tape
that had been placed on the back of the truck," the ruling stated.