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| Photo: Courtesy of the Law Office of Michael A. Kernbach, PC |
Article thanks to Scott Daugherty and pilotonline.com. Links provided:
Aug, 2017 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY
The family of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy killed three years ago by a big rig hauling frozen Perdue chicken parts has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for $2.05 million, according to court documents.
Earl Baynor Jr. Trucking, the owner of the big rig, and its insurance company will pay $1.05 million. Perdue will pay $1 million.
“The family is relieved that the case has been resolved,” said Michael Kernbach, the family’s attorney. “It is a sad case all around.”
A Perdue spokesman declined to comment on the settlement, citing a confidentiality agreement. Attorneys for the trucking company did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit, which initially sought $25 million in damages, stemmed from a Sept. 4, 2014, crash on U.S. 13 near its intersection with Eyreville Drive in Northampton County.
Albert Thomas, 50, was driving a tractor when he was fatally rear-ended by a 2005 Peterbilt 387 semi hauling a 53-foot Perdue trailer. Rodney Shepherd was driving the big rig.
According to the lawsuit, Shepherd was working for Baynor Trucking at the time of the crash. Perdue hired the company to transport chicken from its processing plant in Accomack County.
Thomas was moving the tractor as part of a second job, according to Kernbach.
After the crash, Thomas – a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office who was assigned to the Eastern Shore Regional Jail – was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and pronounced dead two days later.
The lawsuit alleged the trucking company had a poor safety record that included repeated falsified hours-of-service documentation, as well as drivers in possession of alcohol, positive tests for cocaine and daylight wrecks that occurred during dry conditions.
Shepherd pleaded guilty in January 2015 in Northampton General District Court to misdemeanor reckless driving for following too closely.
He was ordered to serve four days in jail and pay $731 in fines and court costs.
Scott Daugherty
Reporter
Scott Daugherty covers courts for The Virginian-Pilot.
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