State settles wrongful death lawsuit in highway patrol crash with DUI suspect

By Erik Ricasa

Published on July 22, 2005

Tom McCoy, 73, was a passenger in a 1996 Ford Contour when he was killed March 8, 2001. According to media reports at the time, his wife Ella McCoy, then 70, pulled the car onto a highway in front of a patrol car driven by Missouri State Trooper Lonnie Lejeune.

The award, nearly $190,000, was made to Ella McCoy and Tom McCoy's son, daughter, and grandson, who survived his father.

The lawsuit accused Lejeune of negligent behavior in responding to a minor, non-injury accident. According to the suit, he was traveling at high speed inappropriate to the situation and failed to use warning lights or sirens. A police report says Lejeune was traveling at 68 miles per hour. The plaintiffs' attorney claimed the speed was over 90 miles per hour. The 1999 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car struck the McCoys' car on the passenger side and ejected Tom McCoy through the windshield. He died at the scene.

According to police reports, Ella McCoy, who was taken to the hospital with injuries, had a blood alcohol level of 0.193, nearly twice the legal level of 0.100. She was issued a Class A misdemeanor summons for driving while intoxicated.

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