CHICAGO, October 29, 2010 – A $6.5 million settlement was approved today in the Circuit Court of Kane County in a trucking accident/wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Tabitha Carroll, 32, formerly of East Dubuque, IL. Tabitha died on October 31, 2008 when a tractor-trailer owned by Geils Farms and driven by Jeffrey Repec of Spring Grove rear-ended the pick-up truck that Tabitha was riding in with her husband, Randolph “Randy” Carroll, and 3- year-old son, Gabriel. Police determined that Repec was under the influence of marijuana when the crash occurred. John J. Perconti of Levin & Perconti represented the Carroll family in the lawsuit.
During the course of the lawsuit, it was discovered that the farm owners did not randomly drug screen their drivers in violation of Part 382 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulations. They also failed to perform background checks on their drivers or obtain a copy of each driver’s driving record. Additionally, the farm was in violation of federal regulations by operating an over-loaded semi, weighing more than 80,000 pounds. Furthermore, Geils Farms allowed Repec to operate an unsafe semi-truck. After the collision, it was found that truck’s left rear turn signal was inoperable, five of the ten brakes were out of adjustment, and some of the truck’s brake pads were contaminated by oil or grease, making the vehicle inadequate for braking and safe stopping.
The fatal accident occurred on Halloween day on Route 47 near I-90 in Huntley. The Carroll family intended to visit Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch when the accident occurred. Repec failed to recognize the vehicles in front of him had stopped and struck the Carroll vehicle from behind at a high rate of speed. The collision pushed and crushed the Carroll vehicle into a stopped IDOT truck. Tabitha was pronounced dead at the scene and Randy and Gabriel were airlifted to separate hospitals with serious injuries. The lawsuit, filed in January 2009, alleged that Repec was operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs, driving over the speed limit and failing to keep a proper look out. Police at the scene found drug paraphernalia and marijuana in Repec’s possession and he later tested positive for marijuana. Repec pled guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of drugs and is serving a 45 month sentence in the Jacksonville Correctional Center.
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