LOGAN — Two lawsuits have been filed in Logan Circuit Court against Asplundh Tree Experts over the deaths of two women after a car accident.
Asplundh Tree Expert, Tina Louise Bolden, Burgess & Niple, Teddy W. Gillenwater and Triton Construction were named as defendants in the suit.
Brittany Lester and Amanda Hodge were passengers in a vehicle driven on Route 10 in Logan County on April 5, 2017, when Gillenwater, who was operating a semi-truck, collided with their vehicle, according to two complaints filed in Logan Circuit Court.
Walter Lester and Camisha Williams, administrators of the estates for Brittany Lester and Hodge, claim the semi-truck Gillenwater was operating was owned by Asplundh, and Gillenwater was negligently operating the truck at a high rate of speed when he struck the vehicle in which Lester and Hodge were riding.
Gillenwater failed to maintain control of the semi-truck, according to the suits.
Lester and Hodge suffered pain and injuries and, ultimately, their deaths, due to the vehicle accident, according to the suits.
Walter Lester and Williams claim they suffered sorrow, mental anguish, loss of income, expenses for care and treatment, funeral expenses and other damages.
Bolden was the operator of the vehicle that Brittany Lester and Hodge were passengers in and she was negligent in failing to properly stop at a stop sign and put them into the path of the semi-truck, according to the suit.
Burgess & Niple designed and/or ensured the construction of the intersection where the accident occurred.
Walter Lester and Williams claim Burgess & Niple designed the roadway with a curve that caused the illusion that motorists did not have to slow or stop at the intersection.
Walter Lester and Williams are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by Clayton G. Anderson and Marvin W. Masters of The Masters Law Firm; and W. Stuart Calwell Jr., Benjamin D. Adams and Alex McLaughlin of The Calwell Practice.
Logan Circuit Court case numbers: 18-C-187, 18-C-188
