Family of R&B singer killed in crash with semi truck suing trucking company + truck’s collision avoidance system manufacturer

The family of an R&B singer killed in a crash with a semi truck earlier this year is suing the trucking company and the makers of the truck’s collision avoidance system. 

Singer Angie Stone was killed in a crash involving a semi truck in Montgomery County, Alabama back in March. The resulting lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, September 2nd. 

According to WSBTV, the driver of the 2021 Mercedes Sprinter van Stone was riding in lost control on I-65. The driver then overcorrected and caused the van to overturn, leaving it in the middle of I-65. A semi truck driven by Jared Wilkinson then crashed into the overturned van as the occupants tried to climb out, causing Stone to become trapped beneath the wreckage, where she was later found dead. 

The lawsuit has been filed by Stone’s son and daughter, and names the van driver, the truck driver, the owner of the van, the trucking company, and the truck manufacturers responsible for the rig’s collision avoidance system – Daimler Truck North America LLC 3, and Detroit Diesel Corporation.

The suit claims that Wilkinson never hit the brakes before he struck the van, and was listening to music on headphones in the moments before the accident. The suit also claims that the collision avoidance system failed to detect the van lying in the roadway, and did not alert the driver or trigger any collision avoidance maneuvers as intended. The suit claims that all named companies and both drivers cause the crash through negligence. 

The family is calling for the defendants to cover the cost of hospital bills, attorney fees, damages, and anything else the judge will award them.