Wal-Mart did not attach tire, suit says

CHARLESTON - A Keyser woman says Wal-Mart did not properly secure a tire on her car, leading to an accident two years ago.

Patricia Crites filed a lawsuit Oct. 10 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Wal-Mart Stores and employee Chris Day, the man she says was in charge of putting on the tire.

Crites says the Wal-Mart Super Center Tire and Lube Express put on the tire, and she drove all the way to Big Chimney in Kanawha County on Interstate 79 before a lug nut fell off. The tire, too, came off, and she says she rolled over an embankment.

As a result, Crites says she was stuck in Charleston and could not return to work at Affiliated Computer Services in Frostburg, Md., and that she was subsequently fired.

Also suing is Chastity Crites, who was a passenger and pregnant at the time of the accident.

Patricia is suing for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, limitations in her activities and a diminution in her ability to enjoy life, as well as medical expenses.

Patricia Crites says she was obeying the laws of the road, and that the defendants breached their duty to guarantee the tire "was properly installed and secured in a proper manner."

Todd Twyman is representing the women.

Judge James Stucky has been assigned the case.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number 06-C-2100