Firms Settle Faulty Tailight Suit
The Rev. Duane Willis and his wife, Janet, whose children were killed in the Nov. 8, 1994, accident, will get their money by Nov. 15 in a tax-free lump sum, attorney Joseph Power said.
"The heartache will always be there, but we have the joy of the Lord - and 15 grandchildren," Willis said Thursday as he held hands with his wife in Power's law office after the settlement was announced.
The disaster occurred on an expressway west of Milwaukee while the Willises were en route to a birthday party.
Sparks from the assembly banging against the pavement touched off the gasoline, and flames engulfed the van, killing all six children.
Ricardo Guzman, the truck driver, has not been charged with wrongdoing in the accident. His insurers agreed to the settlement.
Besides Guzman, the defendants settling with the Willises are:
- Transamerica Leasing Inc., which attached the tail assembly to the chassis;
- Allied Products Corp. and its Loadcraft Division, which made a part mounted on the truck's chassis;
- Hammer Express Inc., which hired Guzman;
- another Hammer employee, Daniel Guzman;
- Burlington Northern Railroad Co., which operated the rail yard where the chassis was picked up; and
- Chrysler Corp., which manufactured the family's 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager.
Two companies that declined the settlement, M&S Transport Inc. and Hanjin Shipping Co., could face lawsuits from the defendants who did agree, according to Power.
"I think that the evidence that we gathered in this case and the experts that we hired were going to show a rather convincing case of misconduct on the part of the defendants," Power said.
The truck driver, Guzman, received his license at the tainted McCook testing facility, although no corruption has ever been proven in connection with Guzman's license.
Federal prosecutors are investigating the sale of commercial driver's licenses by employees of the Illinois secretary of state's office when Gov. George Ryan was secretary of state. A number of driver's license examiners already have pleaded guilty in the case.
Power noted that the manager of the McCook facility at the time is among those who have pleaded guilty. He also said Ryan has failed to shoulder his share of the blame for "incompetence and corruption" in the driver's licensing program, which he said led to the tragedy.
Ryan issued a statement Thursday, saying the "Willis family has suffered more than enough, and my hope is that this settlement will bring some closure."
"However, as the father of six and the grandfather of 13, I know it will be hard for them to ever come to terms with the loss of their children," Ryan said. "My prayers and deepest sympathies are with Reverend and Mrs. Willis."
The new secretary of state, Jesse White, says he plans to close down the McCook facility when the lease runs out in part because it has been so seriously riddled with corruption.
