Wrongful death suits filed in quintuple fatal wreck

Wrongful death suits filed in quintuple fatal wreck

ST. LOUIS -- One month after a fiery, multi-vehicle crash left five people dead, relatives of the victims have filed wrongful death lawsuits.

The crash July 28 in the St. Louis suburb of Eureka, when a dump truck loaded with gravel failed to slow down as the traffic in front of it stalled near the Interstate 44 exit for Six Flags St. Louis, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

The truck collided with a minivan, killing Angela Huckaba, 30; her 9-year-old son, Jacob, and her 7-year-old son, Joshua, all of St. Louis County. Also killed were Huckaba's sister, Amy Willingham, 18, and her brother, Brett Willingham, 14, both of St. Charles. Twelve other people in five other vehicles were injured.

The wrongful death lawsuits -- one for each of the victims -- were among the flood of suits filed last week in St. Louis County Circuit Court before a law limiting damage awards in civil cases took effect.

The plaintiffs are Huckaba's husband, Shawn Huckaba, of Overland, and her parents, Donald and Rita Willingham, of St. Charles County.

The suits allege negligence and name as defendants the truck's driver, Thomas Miskel, of Imperial, and seven others. Defendants said they have not yet been served with the lawsuits and so have not yet had a chance to file responses.

Miskel is accused of driving at excessive speed, neglecting to keep a safe distance from Huckaba's van and failing to stop or swerve out of the way.

Also named are:

-- Bourbeuse River Hauling, of Union, the company to which the dump truck was registered.

-- Millstone Bangert Inc., of St. Charles, whose construction site the truck was headed to when the crash happened.

-- H & H Freight Services of Nevada, Mo., a broker that provides drivers.

-- Kenworth of St. Louis that performed periodic maintenance on the truck. The suit said the Fenton-based truck repair shop "knew or should have known it was not equipped with safe and/or adequate brakes."

-- Six Flags because of motorists stopping to pay parking fees at the entrance to its lot.

-- The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission for its "dangerous design of the exit ramp."

-- The city of Eureka for its alleged failure to control traffic on the exit ramp.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com