Family of Indiana woman killed in collision with truck wins $6 million lawsuit
By Jim Greene
Published on November 14, 2005
The family of an Indiana women killed in a 2003 collision with a tractor-trailer was awarded $6 million dollars in a wrongful death suit against the tractor driver and an Illinois trucking company.
Sandra Castronovo, of Culver, died of injuries received in a February 2003 collision between her car and a tractor-trailer that was traveling behind her in very dense fog on U.S. 30 near Wanatah. Castronovo's husband John filed the suit against driver Kenneth Lively and tractor owner Doug Lavery Ltd. in U.S. District Court.
The suit accuses Lively of driving too fast for the foggy conditions and failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle, which the suit says struck Castronovo's car from the rear, sending it spinning into the back of another tractor-trailer stopped at a red light.
Police first reported that Castronovo lost control on her own and that Lively said he had to swerve to avoid hitting her car from the rear.
Plaintiff's attorney Timothy Schafer's office conducted its own investigation and found marks on Castronovo's car and the Lavery tractor to support its contention that Livery caused the car accident by hitting the car from behind.
Schafer said the judgment by Judge Philip Simon absolved Castronovo of wrongdoing in the incident.
The owner of the trailer Livery was pulling also contributed to the award.
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