Firetruck Tragedy Settled Outside of Courtroom

On July 26, 2010 two firefighters, named Posey Dillon and William Altice, died as a result of a collision with an SUV that was driven by Terri Anne Valentine. When the firetruck collided with the SUV, control was lost of the truck and the two firefighters were ejected from the vehicle. In the March of 2012, the daughter of William Altice, Christie Altice-Weaver sued both Terri Anne Valentine and the widow of Posey Dillon, Ann Dillon for the negligence that had resulted in the death of her father. The settlement that was sought was $2 million dollars.

The first trial took place later that year, in September. During the course of this trial, the jury decided that Valentine was responsible for the death of Altice, but Dillon was not. However, there were problems with the trial and a new trial was scheduled for July 28, 2013. Valentine’s liability still stood.

Later that week, the trial was cancelled because the plaintiff and the defendants had reached a settlement. Both parties seemed to be relieved that they would not have to go through another trial.

As reported by Roanoke.com the reason why Valentine was cited for negligence was because she did not slow or stop, as is customary, when a firetruck is nearby. Dillon was almost implicated because the manner in which he was driving the truck at a speed that was great enough to be considered to be negligence.

After the three day trial, Altice-Weaver was awarded $9,984.37, which is the amount of money that was spent to pay for the funeral for William Altice. Despite this, the judge, Alexander, regretted that he had been so restrictive in keeping the testimony of the experts to minimum, as well as urged those involved in the case to seek a settlement before the second trial came to court.