Lawsuit against trucking company over fatal crash at Nebraska Burger King settled

By Jim Greene

Published on September 22, 2005

Dennis and Cheryl Carlson filed the suit on behalf of themselves and four siblings against Freightliner LLC, of Portland, Ore., alleging defective brakes were the cause of the October, 2000, accident that killed their mother, Shirley Carlson. The fully loaded truck hit another care before rear-ending Carlson's car. The driver of the other car, Melissa Holton, also died from injuries sustained in the accident.

The accident investigation pointed to faulty pins in the truck's brake assembly. Freightliner recalled 113,000 trucks and installed stronger brake pins. Freightliner subsidiary Thomas Built Buses of High Point, N.C., recalled 6,000 school buses for a similar upgrade.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf announced the two sides had agreed to an undisclosed settlement and gave them 30 days to file the details with the court.

A lawyer for the Carlson family said they were pleased with the settlement, which they said acknowledges the horrific nature of the accident and will allow them to move on with their lives.

Lawyers for Freightliner were unavailable for comment after the settlement was announced.

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