Wrongful death lawsuit filed over deadly I-35 tractor-trailer crash

by PegNews wire

FORT WORTH — Fort Worth-based truck accident attorney Steve Laird of the Law Offices of Steven C. Laird announced today they filed a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other defendants following a deadly tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 35 near Gainesville, Texas.

Laird represents Melissa Hinkle following the death of her only son, Casey, 13, and her father, Gervious Dale Hinkle, 63, on July 5 when their Ford Explorer was struck from behind by a tractor trailer owned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Refrigerated Delivery Services Inc.

Hinkle suffered severe injuries in the crash, while burial services for Jay and Casey Hinkle were held on July 12 in Granbury.

In addition to TxDOT and Refrigerated Delivery, also named as defendants are Randy Crume, the tractor-trailer driver, and Texarkana, Ark.-based KKM Construction Inc., whose work on an interstate bridge created a traffic jam that backed up for miles prior to the collision. A Texas state trooper told reporters that Crume failed to control the truck’s speed before crashing into the Hinkle’s vehicle and several others. Three more people were killed near the same site on August 3, when another tractor-trailer slammed into vehicles sitting in a traffic jam caused by the same contractor.

“Ms. Hinkle is filing this lawsuit with the hope that it will bring change and prevent something like this tragedy from happening to another family,” says Laird. “Every defendant in this case had a hand in these unnecessary deaths, and we intend to make sure they are held accountable. This has to stop before more innocent people are killed.”

Source: Law Offices of Steven C. Laird