By Mike Allen
On Oct. 1, 2005, a four-car crash in Louisa County devastated three Roanoke-area families. Two boys and a girl were hurt, and a third boy was killed. One of the surviving boys lost his mother in the crash.
This week, all the families involved and their insurance companies petitioned for a settlement of $1.3 million in Roanoke County Circuit Court. The settlement, which has not yet been finalized by a judge, would be divided among the victims of the crash.
"We all congregated together, supported each other," said Cheryl Smith, who was injured in the crash along with her daughter Caitlin, then 9, and son Conner, then 7. "I place this as another part of God's work in all of this."
"They did the best they could with what they had to work with," said Sandy Mosier, mother of 10-year-old J.T. Mosier, who died in the crash.
Cameron Stoops, then 7, was also injured, and his mother, Bridget Stoops, was killed.
The woman who police say caused the crash, Myrta Claudio of Staten Island, N.Y., also died in the crash. Her insurance was limited to payments of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and her estate had no assets, according to the petition. Because of this, payments in the settlement have to come from the other families' uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
"This was a horrible, horrible crash," said Salem lawyer Brent Brown, who represented Caitlin and Conner Smith in the settlement. "To make it all work, everybody had to agree, to avoid protracted, expensive, nonproductive litigation."
"It's a terrible example of what happens when people don't carry automobile insurance," said lawyer John Lichtenstein, who represented Cameron Stoops.
Under the agreement, the Smith family would receive $927,000, the Stoops family $304,000 and the Mosier family about $44,000.
All the families are grateful to have this phase behind them, but it won't solve their financial challenges.
New surgery last month for Caitlin Smith related to complications from her injuries racked up costs of more than $40,000, her mother said.
Cheryl Smith said that compared to projections of her children's future medical expenses, the settlement "is like a drop in the bucket."
