As settlement in fatal truck wreck nears, KDOT sues to recover cost of highway repair
Two years after the fatal semitrailer wreck on Interstate 435 that left two children dead and three family members seriously injured, the state of Kansas is suing the victims and other parties involved in the accident to recover $116,832 for repairs to a highway barrier damaged during the crash.
The suit, filed Tuesday, comes as the parents of 7-year-old Ruth Solome Vazquez-Hernandez and her 1-year-old sister, Teresa de Jesus Vazquez-Hernandez, are about to finalize a settlement of their wrongful death claim against the truck driver and owners of the tractor-trailer rig.
On Feb. 18, 2018 a truck driven by William Spring of Corning, Iowa slammed into a minivan driven by the mother of the two girls, Angelica Hernandez-Valentin. Hernandez-Valentin and her two sons, ages 9 and 14, were ejected by the force of the collision, according to court records, and suffered serious injuries.
A GoFundMe page set up for the family at the time of the wreck, said the younger boy lost his leg. Spring suffered less serious injuries and was treated and released from a hospital the next day, authorities said.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when the 2002 Honda minivan slowed or stopped for an unknown reason in the westbound lanes of I-435 near State Line Road in Leawood. Unable to stop in time, Spring rear-ended the minivan and then crashed through the concrete barrier along the shoulder.
Early this month, Hernandez-Valentin and the father of their children, Salomon Vazquez, reached a settlement with Spring and the owners of the truck and trailer: Brown Truck Leasing Corp. and Greenfield Logistics Inc. Terms were not disclosed in court documents filed in Jackson County Circuit Court on Feb. 3. A hearing to finalize the agreement is set for March 12 at the courthouse annex in Independence.
No lawsuit was filed in that case.
KDOT sued in Johnson County District Court, naming as defendants Spring, Brown Truck Leasing, Greenfield Logistics and the parents of the four children.
It’s not unusual for state and local governments to file claims for damage and other costs to taxpayers from traffic crashes. The transportation department faulted Hernandez-Valentin for allegedly not having a valid driver’s license at the time of the wreck. It also claims she was negligent for failing to use reasonable care by moving off the roadway when her minivan failed to go at “a reasonable speed.”
Spring was negligent, KDOT alleges, for “driving too fast for conditions on the roadway” and following too closely.
A lawyer involved in negotiating the wrongful death settlement agreement declined to comment.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 12:21 PM.
