The children of a Windsor, Ont., woman struck and killed by a tractor-trailer while crossing a street in 2003 reportedly have settled a lawsuit against the city and the trucking company, Martin Transportation Systems of Grand Rapids, Mich. Lawyer Greg Monforton announced the out-of-court settlement Tuesday, Jan. 23, but declined to release the amount of the settlement at the family’s request, according to the Windsor Star.
On Oct. 16, 2003, Jacqueline Bouchard was crossing a street when she was struck by the truck, which was owned by MTS, the newspaper reported. Bouchard was crossing against the light, but Monforton told the Star that when the lawsuit was launched, the timing of the lights did not allow “safe passage across nine lanes of traffic.” Monforton told the newspaper the family is “extremely pleased” with the settlement, and that it was “in accordance with other settlements in similar circumstances.”
While there is no admission of guilt or negligence by the city or trucking company, Monforton told the Star that after the death, the city built a pedestrian overpass across the busy street and widened pedestrian lanes at the intersection. “Traffic engineering experts retained by us confirmed that the pedestrian crossing and traffic stop bars were poorly configured and that this presented an unnecessary safety hazard,” Monforton told the newspaper.
The truck driver, Karnjit Singh Gill of Hamilton, was not charged, according to the Star.
