An Alabama town will receive a nearly $189,000 settlement from Werner and their insurance company after one of its drivers partially collapsed a bridge while following his GPS.
The bridge collapse happened in Cullman County, Alabama, on February 21, 2018 while truck driver Dontie Latray Huff was trying to reach a location in Jones Chapel. Huff’s GPS device sent him and his 30 ton truck over the County Road 821 bridge.
The bridge, which was built in the 1940’s and is only rated for three ton vehicles, partially collapsed under the weight of Huff’s truck.
30 TON DOLLAR GENERAL BIG RIG
Crumples 3 Ton Bridge On County Road 821
Initial Repair/Replacement Bill Estimated Near $500,000
Incident involved a 53 foot Dollar General (DG) 18-wheeler with a significantly merchandise loaded box trailer weighing 30 tons.https://t.co/7Ue3R0JO83 pic.twitter.com/8uGekE6cR7— Cullman Today (@CullmanToday) February 23, 2018
No one was hurt.
Though at the the time of the incident it was estimated that the truck did half a million dollars worth of damage to the bridge structure, Cullman County eventually requested just $188,742 for bridge repair during the post-incident negotiations with Werner and Huff. Local newspaper Cullman Today reports that the county was initially offered much less than the requested $188,742 sum.
After the negotiations fell through, Cullman County Attorney Chad Floyd filed a civil lawsuit against Werner and Huff.
Today in response to the Cullman County suit, Werner, Huff, and their associated insurance company agreed to pay the requested $188,742 sum.
$188,742 SETTLEMENT REACHED
On Crumpled Bridge On County Road 82Two weeks ago, @FloydLaw47 recommended to the Cullman County Commission that the county file a civil lawsuit against Werner and Huff. https://t.co/a6elSe13fy pic.twitter.com/txz48QIKvT
— Cullman Today (@CullmanToday) June 26, 2018