The widow of a trucker who was killed in a truck stop parking lot in
2008 has filed a civil lawsuit against Pilot Travel Centers.
According
to court documents, trucker George Taylor died on Aug. 23, 2008, after
apparently being struck by a vehicle in a parking lot at the Pilot
truck stop in Sioux Falls, SD. Taylor had parked near the truck diesel
pumps late at night that day.
George Taylor’s widow, Helen
Taylor, of Webb City, MO, is suing for wrongful death, claiming that
Pilot should have better lit the parking lot and should have included
security cameras. The suit mentioned a previous incident in which truck
driver Gregory Zuba was struck and killed by a truck at the same truck
stop in November 2005, arguing that Zuba’s death should have provided a
wake-up call to the truck stop.
In a response filed in
Federal Court in South Dakota, Pilot admits that Taylor appears to have
died at its Sioux Falls truck stop but denies that its lighting near
the truck diesel pumps was inadequate, and denies that it failed to
provide “adequate security cameras.”
“The death of George
Taylor and alleged damages of plaintiff were legally, directly and
proximately caused solely by the actions of the unknown person or
persons who struck George Taylor,” Pilot’s response says.
The
suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as burial,
funeral and other damages incurred by the Taylor family.
– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
Courtesy of LandLine Magazine
