December 19, 2003 - Parents file wrongful death suit against driver in 2001 accident

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Just two days before Christmas in 2001, a car accident on Highway 30 in Jefferson County took the life of Christine L. Sandusky.

On that evening, Christine was pulling out of a private driveway onto Highway 30 in Dittmer in a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier. She was driving across the westbound lane of Highway 30, intending to go east, when her car was violently struck on the side by a 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, being driven in a westerly direction on Highway 30.

Christine, from St. Louis, was 20 years old at the time. A male passenger, the owner of the vehicle, sustained injuries and was transported to a hospital by Arch Helicopter. The driver of the 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Zachary L. Rock of Dittmer, was just 22.

It was cloudy that night as Christine tried to cross the two-lane highway. The front of the Monte Carlo plowed right into the driver's side of the Cavalier.

The car Christine was driving was knocked up the hill a tremendous distance, said the family's attorney, George J. Miller of The Miller/Salsbury Law Firm. The vehicle was heavily damaged.

The police report filed on the accident showed that the vehicle was moved almost 50 yards from the crash site before it finally came to rest.

Now the parents of Christine, Quentin J. Sandusky and Cynthia Thurston, have filed a wrongful death suit against the driver of the other vehicle.

The lawsuit claims that her death was the direct result of the negligence and carelessness of the defendant. It maintains that he drove his motor vehicle at an excessive and dangerous speed under the circumstances and failed to slow down or swerve to avoid a collision. He also failed to give any warning of the approach of his vehicle.

The speed limit on that stretch of the highway is 55 mph. The police report listed only Failed to Yield as a probable contributing circumstance of the accident.

But, according to the lawsuit, the defendant failed to maintain his vehicle in adequate working condition and to maintain two sets of adequate brakes, and he operated the vehicle knowing that he had defective brakes.

As a result of the death of Christine, Quentin Sandusky was obligated to pay $15,000 for funeral expenses. Quentin and Cynthia suffered mental anguish and have been damaged by the loss of companionship and support as well as the loss of future earnings of Christine in the amount of $1.5 million, the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs are requesting a judgment in excess of $25,000 that is fair and reasonable, for their costs of the lawsuit, and for such other relief as the court deems just. A jury trial is demanded.

The plaintiffs further petition the court to collect a receipt for the payment of the judgment, to deduct and pay the attorney's fees and expenses of collection of the judgment, and to distribute the net proceeds as ordered by the court.

Or, in the alternative, the plaintiffs request that the jury award damages in an amount proportionate to the injury and that the damages awarded be divided among the individuals who are entitled to recover.

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