West Plains, MO. – The parents of two Willow Springs teens that died in a Douglas County crash have been awarded $3 million in an arbitration suit against the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission (MHTC).
Zach White and Jonah Smith were killed in a single vehicle crash on Highway 181 on July 30, 2019. The the parents of the deceased, Ivan and Janel Smith and Jeff and Kyla White, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against MHTC. Represented by Lynn Henry of the Henry Law Firm of West Plains, the parents argued that improper care of the roadway and lack of a level and properly maintained shoulder contributed to the death of their sons.
On October 18, an arbitration panel ruled that the MHTC was at 30% fault in the accident and awarded damages in the amount of $3,000,000 to each of the Smith and White families.
One member of the three person panel dissented against the decision. The dissent argued that even if the shoulder had been properly maintained, White wouldn’t have had time to attempt to correct the direction of the vehicle and the result would not have changed.
