The parents of a 14-year-old who died in a rollover crash with a utility terrain vehicle in Collinsville have settled their wrongful death suit ahead of trial.
In an order filed May 4, Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith canceled the May 16 trial after the parties announced that they had reached a settlement. Defendant Forrest Lerch was the only remaining defendant when the order was entered.
Edwardsville attorney Ryan Sweet of Swanson & Sackett PC originally filed the complaint on behalf of Kristi and Chris DiMarco, individually and as co-administrators of the estate of Alexis DiMarco, in the St. Clair County Circuit Court. The case was transferred to Madison County Circuit Court in October 2020.
A second amended complaint was filed on July 1, 2021, against Lerch, Breese Lawn & Garden, City of Collinsville, Collinsville Township, Jason Jensen, Keller Farms Inc., Kim Pamatot, individually and as trustee for the Louis F. Keller Trust, Lerch Properties LLC, Lerch Properties Enterprises LLC, Lerch Property Investments LLC, Polaris Industries Inc. and Triple Lakes Farm LLC.
Alexis “Lexi” DiMarco was a student at Collinsville Middle School at the time of the Dec. 16, 2019, crash.
“She enjoyed playing competitive soccer, spending time with friends and making silly videos. Lexi had a contagious personality and loved to make people laugh. She was her mommy’s world and everyone who knew her, loved her,” her obituary states.
According to the lawsuit, Lexi DiMarco attended a sleepover with Lerch’s minor daughter, M.L., on Dec. 15, 2019, at their home on Keebler Road in Collinsville. M.L. was 14 years old at the time. At the same time, Jensen’s minor daughter, M.J., attended a sleepover at a home on Taake Lane in Troy with minor M.H. Jensen’s daughter was 13 years old at the time.
Between Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, which was a Monday, there was approximately five to nine inches of snowfall in the St. Louis Metro East area. As a result, local schools were canceled for a snow day on Dec. 16.
Sometime around 11:18 a.m. on Dec. 16, Lexi DiMarco spoke with her mother, Kristi DiMarco, and was advised not to travel to M.L.’s mother’s home in Edwardsville due to the winter weather. Sweet wrote that it was determined that Lexi DiMarco would spend the day with M.L. at Lerch’s home, which was less than a mile from the DiMarco home in Maryville.
“At said time, Ms. DiMarco entrusted Lerch with the continued care and control of Lexi,” Sweet wrote. "At no time during this conversation was the subject of riding in a UTV ever contemplated.”
The suit states that Jensen is the branch manager of the Shiloh branch office of Morgan Stanley on Frank Scott Parkway in Shiloh. The office closed at 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2019, due to the weather forecast. Jensen is allegedly the financial advisor for Lerch Properties.
Lerch owned three utility terrain vehicles (UTV) including a 2019 Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Crew, which was allegedly intended for farming purposes. Jensen allegedly coordinated with Lerch to bring M.J. and M.H. to Lerch’s home, where all of them would go on a UTV ride in the snow, including Lexi.
The suit states that Jensen sought permission from M.H.’s father. The DiMarco’s claim they were not contacted for permission or even to be informed about the UTV ride.
At some point between the time Lexi spoke with her mother and 3:08 p.m., Lerch entrusted his unlicensed, minor daughter with driving the Ranger.
The suit states that Lexi rode as the front passenger in the UTV driven by M.L. The other two minors rode as passengers. M.L. allegedly told the other minors that they did not have to wear a seatbelt.
At the same time, Lerch drove another UTV with Jensen as his sole passenger. None of the minors were provided with helmets.
Lerch allegedly led an expedition from his house down Old Keebler Road and onto State Route 157, where they gained access to a levee on the Burdick Branch of the Cahokia Canal. Lerch led the minors west on the levee, where they turned south onto the Cahokia Canal levee. They allegedly rode the levee south the entire length of Collinsville farmland known as Keller Farm until they came upon a fallen tree. With the route blocked, they decided to return to Lerch’s residence.
When the group turned to return to Lerch’s home, they made the same route on top of the levees with Lerch trailing the UTV driven by M.L. Approximately six miles into their journey, M.L. lost control of the UTV while on the Keller Farm. The UTV slid off the levee and rolled onto its passenger side. Lexi was partially ejected from the vehicle. When the UTV came to a stop, the roll bar was allegedly on Lexi’s head, pinning her face-down in the snow for over six minutes. Due to the remote location and wintery conditions, it took first responders roughly 15 minutes to arrive on the scene. She was transported to Anderson Hospital by Glen Carbon EMS, where she was pronounced dead at 5:22 p.m. The suit states that her cause of death was determined to be blunt head and chest trauma.
Sweet wrote that Lerch negligently and carelessly permitted Lexi to be placed in circumstances that endangered her life and allowed M.L. to operate the UTV, “whose incompetency, inexperience or recklessness should have been known by Lerch.”
Lerch is also accused of failing to properly control or supervise his unlicensed, minor daughter’s operation of the UTV, failing to appropriately train her in the safe operation of the UTV, and allowing his daughter to operate the UTV in a careless manner and at a rate of speed too fast for conditions.
The suit states that Pamatot owns 23.94 percent interest in the Keller Farm, and the Louis F. Keller Trust owns 76.06 percent interest in the farm. Pamatot allegedly publicly avails the farm for use by hunters and fishermen in exchange for “consideration.”
Pamatot is accused of failing to properly control or supervise the use of the farm, failing to appropriately train invitees in the safe operation of the farm, permitting an unlicensed minor child to operate the UTV on the farm, failing to provide adequate warnings to people traversing the farm, failing to provide protective barriers along the levee, and permitting invitees to drive UVs on the levee.
The Polaris defendants are accused of manufacturing and selling an unstable UTV that was defective in design, causing it to have a propensity to overturn under normal operating conditions. The UTV also allegedly contained a flawed occupant restraint system and lacked a throttle limiting device for unrestrained front seat passengers.
Collinsville and Collinsville Township are being sued for allegedly agreeing to maintain the levee for vehicles to access and traverse. Additionally, the plaintiffs allege Collinsville failed to restrict access to the levee to anyone who was not a party to the Permanent Easement Agreement.
In their answer to the amended complaint, the Lerch defendants argued that Lexi DiMarco’s injuries were caused by her own conduct in failing to wear a seatbelt, failing to secure herself in the UTV and failing to wear a helmet. They also claimed the incident was caused by circumstances they could not have foreseen.
Pamatot argued that she owes no duty or liability because the individuals riding the UTVs on Dec. 16, 2019, were trespassers and did not have permission to be on the property. She added that she is not obligated to remove the natural accumulation of snow and ice on her own property.
“Defendant Pamatot had no legal duty to protect plaintiffs’ decedent from the hazards of riding in an off-road vehicle, in the snow and on a levee, without a restraint device and without a helmet,” the answer stated.
Breese Lawn and Garden and Polaris also argued in their separate affirmative defenses that Lexi’s injuries were caused by her failure to exercise reasonable care for her own safety. They added that the UTV was mishandled at the time of the incident.
Collinsville had sought dismissal but was later voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on Nov. 9, 2021.
Jensen also sought dismissal but was later voluntarily dismissed on Feb. 23 after reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs.
Breese Lawn and Garden, Polaris, Pamatot and Keller Farms were dismissed on Feb. 16 after reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 20-L-1448