Lawsuit accuses Michigan cement company of hiring unlicensed driver in fatal crash

By Jim Greene

Published on November 03, 2005

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Michigan cement company, claiming the driver of one of its trucks was unlicensed and intoxicated when he caused a fatal car crash.

Gordon Stewart, who is awaiting trial for second-degree murder in the Sept. 16 incident, is accused of swerving into oncoming traffic lanes and crashing a dump truck head on into a Volkswagen Jetta driven by Lara Rutan, who died within an hour of the crash.

The suit, brought in Macomb Circuit Court, blames C&B Cement, also known as Concrete Contractors, for allowing Stewart to drive its truck, in spite of the fact that he has never had a driver's license and has been convicted four times of drunk driving, most recently in 1999. Police reports put his blood alcohol level at 0.20, or twice the state's legal limit, at the time of the crash.

The suit was filed on behalf of Rutan's estate by Charles Rutan, and asks for an undisclosed amount in excess of $25,000.

Stewart's criminal trial is set for Feb. 8. Macomb Assistant Prosecutor Steven Kaplan has said the case will go to trial without any plea bargaining, and that he will introduce Stewart's record as evidence.

Comment on this article →