CHARLESTON — A man who was a passenger in a van is suing Margaret Ann Easton, administratrix of the estate of Vivien M. Easton, deceased; West Virginia Paving Inc.; Green Acres Contracting Inc.; R.G. Steel Corp.; and John Does 1-12, alleging negligence, strict liability, product liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, actual fraud, constructive fraud and joint and several liability in connection with a fiery crash that killed five people.
Nathaniel Williams Jr. filed a complaint on July 7 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that the safety of a cable guardrail/barrier was misrepresented.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Dec. 6, 2014, he was one of the passengers in the van of defendant decedent Easton, traveling north on Interstate 77 in Jackson County, when suddenly Easton lost control of the van, left the highway and traveled into the median, collided with a guardrail and proceeded to travel directly into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The two vehicles violently collided, causing the plaintiff to be thrown out of the van, sustaining serious physical and mental injuries, pain and fear of death, he alleges. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because West Virginia Paving and Green Acres allegedly negligently installed the cable guardrail, Easton allegedly operated her van carelessly, and R.G. Steel allegedly intentionally refused to inform the public of the dangers of the cable guardrail/barrier.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendants jointly and severally for compensatory, consequential and punitive damages, attorneys' fees and costs and such other relief as the court deems just and proper. He is represented by R. Edison Hill of Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler PLLC in Charleston and Mark A. Hunt of Mark A. Hunt & Associates PLLC in Charleston.
Kanawha Circuit Court Case number 16-c-989