On June 25, 2015, a massive truck accident killed six people on I-75 near the Ooltewah exit in Chattanooga. The driver of the truck, Benjamin Brewer, was driving over the federal time limit for commercial motorists and was high on methamphetamines when the crash occurred, according to prosecutors. Recently, a jury was selected for the case, with thirteen women and three men from Davidson County being bused to Chattanooga. The courts had to look far outside of the town where the accident occurred due to the high amount of publicity the tragedy generated.
Public defenders for Brewer argue that police illegally seized several pieces of evidence from Brewer at the accident scene, despite not having formally arrested him. As such, they believe that evidence should be inadmissible.
A HISTORY OF NEGLIGENCE
Brewer has a history of negligent behavior on the road. He was fired from a previous trucking job due to illegal drug use and had crashed seven times in three years before joining Cool Runnings Express, his employer at the time of the crash. The company is no longer operational. Because of the company’s alleged negligent hiring of a clearly dangerous driver, the plaintiffs are seeking relief from Cool Runnings Express. However, Cool Runnings Express only just met the minimum requirements of $750,000 in insurance coverage with which to pay out settlements, an amount that does not mean very much when split across the six victims. For that reason, the attorneys are seeking other defendants, including a construction agency working on I-75 the evening of the crash, a transportation service that hired Brewer for the run and a Kentucky repair company that fixed one of Brewer’s breakdowns.
Proverbs 11:25, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”