Lawsuit blames used car dealer for man's death

WAYNE -- A Roane County man says a Spencer used car dealer sold another man a defective pick-up, resulting in his death.

Roy Wayne Roberts, administrator of the estate of Kenneth Lee Roberts, filed a lawsuit June 4 in Wayne Circuit Court against David L. Carter, doing business as Freedom Used Cars.

According to the complaint, Kenneth bought a used 1994 Toyota pick-up from Freedom on June 15, 2007.

The plaintiff says that Freedom previously had sold the truck to another person a month before and that person returned the truck because it had a performance defect.

The defendants failed to properly inspect the truck before selling it to Kenneth, the complaint says.

Two days after buying the truck, Kenneth was driving it on W.Va. 52 near Fort Gay in Wayne County.

The back passenger side wheel fell off the truck and caused the truck to veer off the roadway and flip multiple times, the complaint says. Kenneth was ejected from the truck and died.

The plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages on grounds of breach of express and implied warranties and wilful, wanton and reckless conduct.

Tony L. O'Dell is representing the plaintiff. The case is before Wayne Circuit Judge Darrell Pratt.

Wayne Circuit Court case number: 09-C-106