Wrongful death lawsuit filed against trucker, trucking company in deadly I-25 bridge crash
The family of a single Colorado mother killed last month after a semi hauling an excavator crashed into a bridge has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker and trucking company in Larimer County District Court. The crash remains under investigation, according to Colorado State Patrol.
It happened on Aug. 8 on Interstate 25 at the Weld County Road 34 overpass. The semi, driven by Darnell Yingling of Import Towing and Recovery, based in Fort Collins, exceeded the height limits and crashed into the bridge. Concrete debris fell onto the roadway and a large piece collided with a vehicle traveling behind the semi.
Megan Arneson, 32, was on her way home from Water World with her son when the concrete debris smashed through her windshield. Arneson was killed and her 10-year-old son suffered minor injuries.
The newly filed lawsuit claims the actions of Yingling and Import Towing and Recovery "recklessly and negligently" failed to ensure the excavator was loaded, equipped and secured to prevent falling from the truck. It also claims Yingling and the trucking company's acts and failures caused Ms. Arneson's death, along with her son's "emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress from witnessing his mother's horrific death."
In a statement to CBS News Colorado, Arneson's parents said:
"Our daughter was a very bright light in this world and a fantastic mother to her wonderful 10-year-old son. We believe that her violent and traumatic death was completely preventable and we want to do everything in our power to make sure that this never happens to anyone else."
"To disregard that most basic safety regulation, and go on a crowded interstate and have their load strike a bridge such that it kills somebody, we believe, as the lawsuit says, that conduct goes beyond negligence and it is reckless," said Michael Kane, the family's attorney.
CBS News Colorado reached out to Import Towing and Recovery, but their office manager said they have no comment at this time.
