Settlement reached in fatal Thanksgiving day accident

Judge Donald Floyd released a Beaumont jury of their duties on Monday, Dec. 23 after six days of trial.

A confidential settlement was reached between the Leggio family and C.R. England, Inc. regarding the 2012 Thanksgiving Day accident that resulted in the death of Vincent and Debra Leggio, residents of Pearland.

The Leggio family was represented by Joe Jamail and Provost«Umphrey attorneys Walter Umphrey and Chip Ferguson.

The massive pile-up on Nov. 22, 2012 involved over 100 vehicles and resulted in over 80 injuries, including the death of the Leggios.

The children of Vincent and Debra Leggio sought damages from Richardo Kerr, the driver of the 18-wheeler, and C.R. England, Inc., the owner of the 18-wheeler.

Evidence showed that Kerr was driving at a speed faster than company policy allowed at the time of the accident.

Additionally, it was determined the driver had ignored a message sent one hour before the accident by the company warning that there was dense fog in the area.

The driver had, during the time he worked for C.R. England, Inc., accumulated more than 30 violations of State and Federal law ranging from speeding tickets to log violations to a 2007 crash where two other people were killed.

“It was a record-setting result. The settlement sets a new bar for these types of cases. It is the result of an entire year of investigation into the accident and driver. We are very proud of this outcome,” says attorney Chip Ferguson.