Rollover accident suit settles before Dec. 8 trial date

A lawsuit filed by a woman claiming her daughter was thrown from a vehicle in which she was riding after it rolled over an embankment at 60 to 70 miles per hour has settled in Madison County.

Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder wrote in an order Nov. 20 that a jury trial scheduled for Dec. 8 had been cancelled due to the parties’ announced settlement.

Jamie Bryant, by her mother, Nikki Wiley, filed suit in 2009 against Brittany Rizzi.

Wiley alleged Bryant was riding in a vehicle Rizzi was driving west on Illinois Route 4 near its intersection with Wiseman Road in Omphghent on Oct. 31, 2006.

“Due to the excessive and unsafe rate of speed at which the Defendant, Brittany Rizzi, was operating the motor vehicle, she lost control of the motor vehicle, thereby causing the motor vehicle to violently leave the roadway and flip over at least three times at an estimated speed of between 60 and 70 miles per hour,” the suit states.

While the vehicle rolled, Bryant was “violently” tossed about inside it before she was ejected and hit the ground face first, according to Wiley.

S. Russell Meyer and Amy M. Meyer of Meyer Law Firm in Alton represented the plaintiffs.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 09-L-982.