Lawsuit in fatal wreck headed into mediation

A judge last week approved the selection of a mediator in a wrongful-death lawsuit over a vehicle crash.

Sarah Childress, Billy Childress, Sarah C. Blevins and administrators of the estates of Tammy Childress and Ricky Blevins are suing The Truss Shop Inc. (a.k.a. Tri-State Components) and Reggie L. Richardson regarding the wreck last February which claimed the lives of two members of an Ennice family.

Judge Michael E. Helms signed the order, filed Jan. 2, appointing certified mediator John S. Willardson of Wilkesboro to conduct the court-ordered settlement conference. The designation document indicated that the parties had agreed to the selection of Willardson as the mediator in the case and on his compensation rate of $125 per hour. Helms has set May 21 as the deadline for completion of the mediated settlement conference.

The crash occurred Feb. 11, 2002 on N.C. 93 in the Piney Creek area about seven miles west of Sparta. A Kenworth tractor-trailer owned by The Truss Shop of Sparta and operated by Richardson was headed west and had broken down on the highway. The disabled commercial vehicle was parked partially in the roadway. A 1988 Ford mini-van driven by Sarah Blevins was traveling west on N.C. 93 and collided with the rear of the Kenworth.

Five passengers were in the van: Blevins' three children, Sarah Childress, 16, Billy Childress, 14, and Tammy Childress, 13; her husband, Ricky Blevins, 44; and Peter Brim, 30. All were listed at the same Ennice address.

Ricky Blevins died at the scene. Tammy Childress died shortly afterward while being transported via AirCare to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (N.C. Baptist Hospital) in Winston-Salem. Sarah Childress spent almost two weeks at Baptist Hospital, initially listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit there.

Billy Childress, Sarah Blevins and Brim received relatively minor injuries; all three were treated and discharged at Alleghany Memorial Hospital's emergency room.

At issue in the lawsuit is who is responsible for the crash.

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