Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of Families Of Boro Grads Killed In Crash

POINT PLEASANT, NJ – A 14-count wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County this week on behalf of the families of two Point Pleasant Borough High School graduates from Brick who were killed last month in southern Illinois when a semi-trailer truck struck their car.

Marsada “Sadie” Connors,20, and Cole Young,19, and their dog were driving on Interstate 70 near Mulberry Grove, IL. when a truck driver traveling in the opposite direction drove across the grass median and hit their vehicle. All were pronounced dead at the scene.

Named in the lawsuit are the truck driver, 55-year-old Bill Lard of Los Angeles, and CRST Expedited, Inc., the trucking company that employed him. Cook County Circuit Judge Karen O’Malley issued an emergency protective order to preserve all evidence from the crash scene.

Connors and Young, who were on vacation driving across the country to visit family members, were headed eastbound in their Honda Odyssey when Lard, traveling westbound, suddenly crossed the grassy median and struck the couple’s car and another vehicle heading eastbound.

Both cars skidded into a ditch, and the driver and passenger in the other vehicle were not seriously injured, but Connors, Young, and their dog were killed immediately.

According to the complaint filed at the crash, Connors, the passenger in the car, was on the phone talking with her mother, who heard her daughter’s screams as the truck sped towards the vehicle.

The complaint also alleges that Laird was negligent, speeding, not watching the road, or taking proper precautions when driving, and violating federal requirements for truck drivers. The complaint states that his employer, CRST Expedited, Inc., did not train him properly to drive the 2020 Frontliner he was driving at the time and never should have been behind the wheel of the truck.

Laird was cited for improper lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

“These families are suffering unbearable pain. To lose children under any circumstance is horrific but to do so as a result of such a negligent and irresponsible act makes it even harder to bear,” Timothy J. Cavanagh, the attorney for both families, said in a statement.

“The families need answers as to why this happened. Both the driver and his employer must be held accountable. Trucking companies are required to properly vet, train and supervise their drivers.”