The family of a Kanawha teenager who died in an accident in 2022 has finally accepted a wrongful death settlement.
A Putnam County Circuit Court approved the wrongful death settlement of claims against Quality Woods, Inc. and Alleghany Wood Products. This was about the crash on I-79 near Clendenin, which killed 14-year-old Leah Strickland.
Wrongful Death Settlement
The teenage girl was a freshman at Hebert Hoover High School and lost her life during an accident while she and her father were traveling home from a soccer match on Aug. 21, 2022. The victim was described as a promising player and was just able to score her first goal as a varsity player earlier that evening.
While the father and daughter were going home, they collided with a slow-moving flatbed semi carrying lumber. Attorneys for the victim's estate successfully argued that the truck was overweight, poorly illuminated, had an improperly licensed driver, and was traveling at a dangerously low rate of speed on the interstate, according to WVMetroNews.
In a statement, Mark Atkinson of Atkinson & Frampton, PLLC, said that the horrible tragedy was "completely preventable." He added that the law required the truck to have a total weight of just under 26,000 pounds but it was, in reality, much heavier.
It was found that the truck weighed closer to 37,000, which caused it to reach a low speed of 21 miles per hour when traveling uphill on Interstate 79. The accident that took Strickland's life occurred while the massive vehicle was going uphill, late at night, around a curve, as it was poorly lit.
As a result of the wrongful death settlement, the two companies involved agreed to pay a total of $4.5 million. Emily Strickland, the victim's mother, said that this "gut-wrenching chapter of our lives is over," WCHSTV reported.
Teenage Girl's Tragic Death
The combined settlement money is divided between the two companies with Quality Woods, Inc. agreeing to pay $3 million and Allegheny Wood Prodycts, Inc. agreeing to pay $1.5 million. Atkinson said it has been an honor helping the Strickland family through this process.
Shortly after the teenage girl died in 2022, people who knew her said that she was able to touch the lives of many others, both on and off the soccer field. During the announcement of her wrongful death settlement, her attorneys called her a "caring and compassionate young girl."
They also described her as someone who always strived for perfection in her grades, soccer, and everything that she did. In memory of their daughter, the Strickland family created a Foundation and a scholarship in her name, as per 13News.
