She Went for a Walk, but Never Came Home
I remember the day the file landed on my desk, full of photos from the devastating fatal car wreck. It took me three days just to open it. I knew what lay inside. It is not Hollywood, it was a human being. I knew I had to do something.
You see, she was a mother, sister, grandmother, a friend, and wife. She had moved to the area to be closer to her family and everyday, she took a walk in her quiet secluded neighborhood. That morning was no different from the rest, it was a calm, comfortably cool morning with only a few clouds filling the skies along her route, when she was violently taken away.
The new neighbor hadn’t acclimated to the quiet life in the neighborhood. He set out in his usual high paced accelerated manner, making the turn onto the street from his long secluded driveway. His truck picked up speed as he quickly ascended down the hill. At that base of the hill, was our Grandma, enjoying her walk.
The impact from his truck sent her 55 feet into the tree lined solder. 55 feet.
Understand, I’m no physicist, however my research determined that when she was hit it was equal to being hit with a mass weighing 69,613 pounds. {just shy of 35 tons}
Her final moment was looking up at the tree canopy that she loved to walk under every day.
I received the call about the case only a few months after it occurred, which gave me a chance, the closer to the incident date the better evidence will be. As we all know, the longer the bread stays out on the kitchen counter the worse it gets.In my discovery and in conjunction with my attorney client, we were perplexed to find out that our driver didn't have a great policy for his vehicle. He had a $700,000 home, a $50,000 Truck, and all the toys a young man could possibly dream of. ATV’s, a boat, you name it...the guy didn’t have a want in the world. So you get the idea, he couldn’t get decent insurance because he had a minimum of 2 traffic violations per year since 2009.
We discovered the information that would tie all these loose ends together. He was a trust fund kid. His late father had sold the 4 largest Point of Sale transaction Companies in the United States. Needless to say, for A LOT of money. Once I had uncovered that, I knew the rabbit hole would be deep. So I started digging.
I can only find a small bank loan for $100,000. It was a mortgage on the house he had bought in that quiet neighborhood, and well dang, the market value on that is $680,000 with the records showing cash purchase. So I dig deeper.
Looking into the loan, its from a tiny community bank in the deep parts of Southeast Georgia. I call the bank and ask, “I want to make a large payoff on the loan, what do I do?” The sweet lady basically offers enough information for me to know where to look next...Florida.
Now, you should know that I interviewed every household in this quiet neighborhood to find the most helpful people you could imagine. This guy was an absolute nuisance, and it seemed nothing could be done about him. Even after the tragic event, he continued to drive at reckless speeds. His truck had a custom exhaust, head from the main road prior to the entrance of the neighborhood. Parents stopped letting their children ride bikes, skate boards, or scooters...others who would walk for exercise or to visit neighbors stopped. He had terrorized this neighborhood.
I Interviewed one household, and I found that an associate knows the truck driver and that the driver had wanted him to handle his money. The finance guy is local, but won’t formally speak to me. Yet, in two very brief conversations, he directs me to look south. I now have two reasons to look south. I do just that. OK, I’ll save you some time here, since I can get chatty. I locate the firm but can’t determine the amounts. But we don’t give up. The next week or so, I dig and canvas, looking for something. On the day I dumpster dive, I discovered the information that I had hoped for. All the people had been unearthed, the location, everything... all that was needed was the “kill shot” to close this case.
I figured that at the very least this man wouldn't just toss out info that could nail him.
He did.
He threw out the entire statement of all his assets, which accounts had what and where, what mutual funds, investments, cash on hand. The whole dang thing. I literally screamed with delight like a kid on Christmas. I could not get a meeting fast enough with my client. This is what they need to motion for discovery, it's their kill shot. Because if an attorney asks you a direct question, that they should not otherwise know to ask….you could be done for. Naw, you done.
I found out a few months later that the settlement which was in the millions was kept confidential. I still do work for this firm, and I still don't know the number. For me, the number is a curiosity. The fact that the family is made whole to some degree based on my dogged efforts is what satisfies my account. When dealing with a wrongful death as this, the sooner the investigation can begin, the greater discovery of important facts. Don't give the defendant too much time to think it through, no time to make moves that will hinder the case.