BY Robert McCoppin
Daily Herald Staff Writer
A Naperville trucking firm has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement
with the family of a woman who was killed with her son when a gravel
truck smashed into their van.
The judgment against E.D. Siebert Trucking Co. will go to the family of
25-year-old Kimberly Morrill and her 1-year-old son Ryan, who were killed
in the crash on Route 53 at 83rd Street in Woodridge.
Morrill was headed home at the time of the Sept. 28,1995, crash.
The driver of the fully-loaded truck, John Spears, wrote a statement
after the accident suggesting he went through a red light just before impact.
"I was about to enter the intersection when the light changed to
red," the police statement read. "As I approached the intersection I could
see the van turning in front of me."
Spears was not charged with running a red light, but was found guilty
of five mechanical violations, including several citations for defective
brakes.
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The truck also had expired safety stickers, meaning it had not been
inspected by the state when required, the Morrill's attorney Bob
Baizer said.
Spears continued working for Siebert until he rolled over a truck he
was driving in a one-vehicle accident about a year later, Baizer said.
Morrill's husband, Gary Morrill, who works at a department store,
plans to use the money to get another job or start a business that will
let him spend more time with his two surviving children, Baizer said.
Three-year-old Nathaniel suffered third-degree burns on his ankles
from radiator fluid in the crash while four-year-old Kristyn escaped
with a sprained ankle. Both are doing well now, Baizer said.
Their father set up an annuity for the children to get the settlement
money in increments when they get older.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hogan approved the settlement Thursday.
Spears and the firm are suing Kimberly Morrill's estate, maintaining
she bore some of the blame for the accident for turning left in front
of the truck. The case was settled shortly after Illinois tort reform, which limited punitive damages. That law was found unconstitutional a few months ago.
"This case would never have settled if the mean-spirited measures of
tort reform had been allowed to stand," Baizer said. "Gravel truck
companies would have had no incentive to properly maintain their
trucks and their drivers."
One witness to the accident left the scene, Baizer said, but a man
driving behind the Morrills pulled the surviving children out of the van.
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