Almost two years after seven-year-old Aidan Hicks and his nine-year-old sister Gabrielle Greenwood died in a horrifying pile-up on the I-75 in Detroit, a lawsuit related to the crash is progressing.
Windsor lawyer Greg Monforton, who represents the Greenwood and Barrett families, says depositions in the lawsuit should wrap up in the next few months, and he anticipates the courts will set a trial date this fall.
"The pace of lawsuit, although I'm sure seems snail-like to folks, is actually moving along quite well," says Monforton. "We hope to get this case into a courtroom in the late fall of this year if resolution is not achieved prior to that time."
Hicks' and Greenwood's mother Kimberly Barrett was also seriously injured in the accident and continues to recover from her injuries.
Criminal charges are still pending against the driver of the transport truck that slammed into the Hicks-Greenwood family vehicle during white-out conditions the morning of January 31, 2013. An investigation carried out by Monforton and Michigan lawyer Robert Darling found six of the eight axles on the truck were deficient resulting in a 50% reduction in braking capability. Following the accident, Monforton told BlackburnNews.com the driver also had three recent safety violations and two violations of following too closely.
So far, there's no dollar amount set in the lawsuit. Monforton says that will depend on how much the families receive from the truck driver's insurance company.