EDWARDSVILLE — Bethalto homeowners are being sued after a passenger in a utility task vehicle (UTV) suffered severe injuries and took his own life after the vehicle struck a mailbox that was allegedly covered with weeds and intruding on the roadway.
Laura Lynn Kimbro, administrator of the Estate of Seth Michael Kimbro, deceased, filed a complaint Aug. 24 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Anthony Hampton, Jill Hampton, Wendell Yates and Dawn Yates, alleging negligence.
According to the plaintiff's complaint, Seth Kimbro was riding as a passenger in a UTV driven by Barnes on Bethalto Road in Bethalto on Sept. 1, 2019. She alleges Hampton owned and maintained a mailbox, which was allegedly hidden and intruding on the roadway. The mailbox was on a steel pole with one box for the Hamilton family and one box for the Yates family. The plaintiff alleges that weeds were allowed to grow up and cover the steel pole and mailbox, posing a risk to those traveling on the roadway.
The plaintiff claims that as a result of the hidden mailbox hazard, she and Michael Kimbro suffered injuries, lost wages and became liable for medical care services.
The suit states that Seth Kimbro became despondent and depressed due to his “serious and permanently disabling and disfiguring” and took his own life on July 17 “as a proximate result of the accident of September 1, 2019, and his resultant injuries.”
Kimbro accuses the defendants of negligently failing to maintain the property and allowing the mailbox to become hidden and intrude on the roadway. She alleges the mailbox was also not in compliance with the Postmaster General's construction standards.
Kimbro seeks compensation of more than $50,000 for each count and all other proper relief. She is represented by Benjamin Tobin of Pratt & Tobin PC in East Alton.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 21-L-001014