The families of Randall Orff, his son Jonathan, and James Hewitt Ingle are suing the Maryland Transportation Authority, driver Stephen Adam Burt, trailer owner Levon Andonian, tractor-trailer driver Joshua Hargrove, Mobile Mini Inc, tractor-trailer driver Edwin Tixon, Ag Trucking Inc, and Travelers Property Casual Co of America for Maryland wrongful death.
The three victims died on May 10, 2007 when a trailer detached from an SUV driven by Burt. The trailer went in front of Orffs’ vehicle, and a seven-vehicle pileup ensued. No criminal charges were filed against Burt.
The $19 million wrongful death lawsuit accuses Burt of negligence because of the manner in which he operated his motor vehicle. It also contends that Andonian was negligent because he did not include a safety hitch pin when he constructed the trailer and accuses the two tractor trailers (and their employers) of negligence because they allegedly drove too fast under the driving conditions of the time and neglected to control their motor vehicles.
The complaint blames the MTA for letting there be two-way traffic on the westbound span of the bridge when there was a history of previous traffic accidents and deaths occurring under the same traffic conditions. They plaintiffs said that the Maryland Transportation Authority should have known that barriers were needed to separate lines and that steps should have been taken to warn drivers that the driving conditions on that part of the bridge were “dangerous.”
A spokesman for the authority police, Sgt. Jonathan Green says the deadly crash didn’t happen because there was two way traffic but because the trailer had come unhitched from the SUV.
Multi-Vehicle Crashes
Determining liability in a multi-vehicle crash can be hard work, which is why you must retain the services of an experienced Maryland personal injury law firm that knows how to investigate these types of cases. You may be entitled to financial recovery from more than one responsible party.
Victims of Bay Bridge crash sue MdTA, other drivers for $19 million, Daily Record, April 23, 2009
$19 million lawsuit filed in 2007 Bay Bridge crash, Hometown Annapolis, April 26, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Maryland Transportation Authority
3 Killed in Bay Bridge Crash, Washington Post, May 11, 2007