Settlement reached in Blevins lawsuit

Parties have agreed to a settlement of more than $400,000 in a lawsuit over a fatal vehicle crash last year.

According to judgments and orders approved by Superior Court Judge Richard L. Doughton and filed May 13 at the Alleghany County Courthouse, defendants The Truss Shop Inc. (a.k.a. Tri-State Components) and Reggie L. Richardson have agreed to pay $448,564.77 in the cases of three of the plaintiffs in the suit: $233,667.33 for Sarah Childress, $165,000 for the estate of Tammy Childress and $49,897.44 for Billy Childress.

Documents specifying the portion of the agreement applying to the other two plaintiffs in the suit, Sarah C. Blevins and the estate of Ricky Blevins, had not been filed as of Tuesday.

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; Blevins' husband, Ricky Blevins, 44; and Peter Brim.

Ricky Blevins died at the scene. Tammy Childress died shortly afterward, while being transported via AirCare to N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. Sarah Childress spent almost two weeks at Baptist, initially listed in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit.

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

Allegations and Responses

The suit complaint, filed Sept. 10, 2002 by attorneys Kimberly C. Stevens, James N. Freeman Jr. and Christopher D. Lane on behalf of the five members of the Blevins-Childress family, accused The Truss Shop and Richardson of negligence causing the deaths of Ricky Blevins and Tammy Childress and the injuries to the other three. That included failing to have or use warning flares or triangles.

In its written response, filed Nov. 19, 2002, the Truss Shop and Richardson, through their attorneys Patrick H. Flanagan and Steven D. Anderson, denied the negligence allegations. The defendants' response accused Sarah Blevins of negligence in her operation of the van, asserting that that negligence caused the deaths and injuries. Blevins in turn denied those counterclaims.

According to a report by court-appointed mediator John S. Willardson of Winston-Salem, the parties reached an agreement on all issues during a five-and-one-half-hour settlement conference.

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