According to Courthouse News, a trucking company is suing the insurance company and family of a man who committed suicide by driving his ATV into the path of an on-coming truck.
Courthouse News reports that on the day, June 17, 2012, that the man drove his ATV into the path of a truck, the man was making suicidal threats to his wife, Kara Rachelle Young Suckla and her father-in-law, Jimmy Gene Suckla.
Just hours before the accident, Suckla and her father-in-law contacted the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Department in Colorado, alerting them of the suicidal threats and pleading with them to help, however, the two allegedly refused to disclose their names or their location to authorities.
Suckla and her father-in-law told police that the suicidal man had been “drinking and making suicidal threats.”
Not long after the calls to authorities, Jim Justin Suckla drove his ATV into traffic on State Highway 491.
Suckla drove into the path of an on-coming Bray Fast Freight truck. He died at the scene.
The truck driver, while not physically injured, suffered shock and emotional distress. He was taken to the hospital and treated for shock.
Bray Fast Freight, an Arkansas-based carrier, filed suit against Suckla’s insurance company, Liberty Mutual, as well as Suckla’s widow and father.
At the accident scene, Suckla’s widow and father-in-law allegedly told authorities they were the ones who had called to report of the suicidal threats.
Bray Fast Freight is seeking $450,000 in damages.
Courthouse News reports that the Bray Freight suit clams, “both Rachelle Suckla and Jimmy Gene Suckla had intimate knowledge of Justin Suckla’s intention to commit suicide. Both were witness to the act that led to the death of Justin Suckla and the property damage to the plaintiff, and both were in a position to prevent the accident from occurring.”
The carrier says the accident had a tremendous financial impact on the business.
The truck was out of service for three months for repairs.
“After the truck involved in the accident became operable, Bray Fast Freight spent several months catching up on backlogged shipments of goods, which further prevented it from taking on new customers. In short, the damages incurred due to the accident financially damaged plaintiff beyond the three month period of incapacitation of the vehicle involved in the accident,” the suit states.
Liberty Mutual, Suckla’s insurance company, paid $28,000 for the repairs to the truck, however, they did not compensate for the loss of business due to the truck being out of service.
Brey Fast Freight is a small carrier that had only been in business for three years before the accident. The company has 5 trucks and 7 drivers.
Source:
Courthouse News