Newspaper carrier’s family receives ‘substantial’ settlement

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August 8, 2012

Newspaper carrier’s family receives ‘substantial’ settlement

Agreement reached after fatal crash with Varnell police car

Rachel Brown rachelbrown@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Wed Aug 08, 2012, 09:00 AM EDT

Still grieving over her husband’s death after a Varnell police car crashed into his car in March, Virginia Thurman said she’s just relieved the lawsuit she and her daughter filed against the city is over.

“What I really wish is just to turn back the clock to before the accident, but I am glad not to have this court case anymore,” Thurman said in a statement through her attorney, Robert Smalley.

Smalley and Andy Davis, a Rome-based attorney representing the city of Varnell, said the wrongful death suit filed in Whitfield Superior Court has been settled. Both attorneys declined to release a dollar amount, but Smalley said the settlement the city’s insurance carrier, Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency, will pay out is “substantial.”

The family had originally sued for $750,000 and alleged then-Officer James Smith was driving 90 mph when he crashed into Willard Leon Thurman’s Dodge Neon while Thurman was out delivering newspapers in the early morning hours of March 5. Thurman, 70, was a veteran contract carrier for The Daily Citizen after decades of working at a dairy farm in Cohutta.

Varnell Police Chief Lyle Grant said an internal investigation showed Smith violated several department policies including speeding while not on an emergency call. Just how fast he was going is unclear. District Attorney Bert Poston said he needs to finish reviewing the Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) report on the crash, which is not yet publicly available, before he decides whether to press charges against Smith.

“We’re going to schedule a meeting with the victim’s family at some point before we make a final decision,” Poston said.

Family members said Smith and Thurman were friends. Smith worked for the Varnell Police Department six years and was with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office before that, Grant said. Grant said Smith had never been disciplined either before or after coming to the city.

“We checked,” Grant said. “He had a clean record and had an outstanding record with us.”

Smith resigned before the state patrol’s investigation was complete. A phone number for him could not be found.

According to a statement from both attorneys, “Varnell Mayor Dan Peeples indicated that the city regrets the family’s loss and hopes the resolution of this case will help bring some closure, both for them and for the officer involved, who said he was very remorseful.”

The settlement will be paid out through the insurance carrier and not through the city’s general fund. Davis said he didn’t immediately know whether the settlement will have an impact on Varnell’s insurance rates.

He said the city’s agreement to settle the case “is not an admission by either party of liability. It’s just to resolve it because it’s in the best interest of both parties to do so.”

Thurman’s daughter, Melissa Trammell, said in a statement she hopes some good comes from the attention the case has received.

“If nothing else, hopefully this case has brought some attention to the need for all emergency personnel to drive cautiously, in keeping with their training, even in the middle of the night,” she said. “We can’t bring Daddy back, but hopefully this won’t happen again.”

Smalley said the final paperwork is being completed so the lawsuit can be dismissed.

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Newspaper carrier’s family receives ‘substantial’ settlement

Agreement reached after fatal crash with Varnell police car

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