RideSharers accident suit settles

The parties in a personal injury suit that had been set to open in Madison County Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth's courtroom today have settled.

According to the court docket, the parties settled Sept. 10. No details of the settlement were available as of Friday.

Ruth was also set to preside over a breach of contract trial on Monday. That trial remains on the docket.

Plaintiff Dorothy Kinnard had originally sued the driver of the RideSharers van she was a passenger in, the driver who struck the van, the tractor trailer driver who struck that driver, his employer and the two public agencies who sponsor the RideSharers program.

Kinnard claimed she was injured when the van driven by Raymond Sparks was part of a multi-vehicle accident on I-70 in September 2006.

Several of the parties had already settled prior to Sept. 10, including truck driver Curtis Glover and his employer, Davidson Surface Air Inc., on Sept. 4.

Kinnard sought damages of at least $50,000 and costs for medical bills, pain, suffering, disfigurement and disability.
Counterclaims had also been filed in the case.

Kinnard was represented by Kevin Boyne.

Sparks was represented by Donald Ohl. Ohl also represented the two sponsoring agencies of the RideSharers program, the Madison Metro East Transit District and Agency for Community Transit.

The driver who struck Sparks, Ronda Sechrest, was represented by Stephen Mudge.

The case had originally been assigned to then-Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron.

The case is Madison case number 07-L-776.