Fatal accident in Poplar Bluff leads to $1.5M settlement

Close up of a lot of law reports in library

Depositphotos.com image

David Baugher//June 18, 2024//

Listen to this article

A Poplar Bluff traffic accident that left one person dead and one other seriously hurt has resulted in a $1.5 million settlement for an octogenarian couple.

“The crash was captured on video and it was pretty brutal,” said Stephen Walsh of Walsh Law Firm.

According to the lawsuit, uninsured driver Zea Haston Hawley was operating her vehicle at a high rate of speed when she crossed the center line and slammed into a Ford F-150 driven by Sherman Lee Thomas.

Walsh said that the impact killed Hawley and left Thomas with extensive injuries.

“He was airlifted to Barnes-Jewish with 27 fractures,” he said. “They had to do three surgeries on him.”

His wife, Virginia, a passenger in the vehicle, sustained non-surgical fractures but Walsh said her issues were less serious.

He called the settlement with the Thomases insurer Progressive “very amicable” and said there were no arguments over liability. The couple had a half-million limit however there were three vehicles on the policy and they were stacked to obtain the final figure.

“It was not contentious,” he said. “It was quite frankly one of the easier settlements that I’ve had in my career.”

He said it was unclear what caused the deceased driver to crash into his clients’ pickup truck as there was only a slight curve in the road.

Walsh indicated that the couple, who are grandparents to four children, have recovered well. Virginia is still working and Sherman has resumed his gardening hobby.

“They are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” he said.

Jeff Hine of Osburn, Hine and Yates was listed as representing the defendant in the case. He did not return a request for comment.

$1.5 million settlement

Motor vehicle collision