Lawyers reported Jan. 30 that families of five Statesville church members killed in a 2013 crash have settled lawsuits relating to an Oct 2, 2013, accident.
The lawsuits, which are for wrongful death, are against South Korean tire manufacturer Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. Twelve others who were hurt in the accident on Interstate 40 in Tennessee had already settled personal injury complaints.
Members of Front Street Baptist Church’s Young at Heart Seniors Ministry bus crossed the median, hitting an SUV and then a tractor trailer near Knoxville, Tenn. The group was returning from an event in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Both the driver of the truck (Moses Farmer) and a passenger in the SUV (Trent Roberts) were killed, along with the bus driver and his wife, Randy and Barbara Morrison and church members: Cloyce Matheny, Marsha McLelland, Brenda Smith and John Wright. Other church members were injured in the crash.
Investigators blamed failure of a front tire on the church’s bus.
Lawsuits brought by three other families – Farmer, Roberts and Randy Morrison – remain pending in court.
Terms of the settlement are confidential, lawyers said.