The family of Heidi Bennett, a woman from Freehold, New Jersey, reached a settlement this week with a trucking company regarding the untimely death of Ms. Bennett in 2014 due to a crash with an 18-wheeler.
The settlement stems from a crash between Ms. Bennett’s and an 18-wheeler truck that was driven by Stephen Seidl, 52. Ms. Bennett was sitting at a red light at the intersection of Route 9 and Old Mill Road when Seidl smashed into the back of her car and pushed it through the intersection. Bennett’s car caught on fire, and she was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Video of the incident showed that the large truck did not brake before striking Bennett’s vehicle.
Seidl was found by police to be under the influence of methadone and Xanax at the time of the wreck. He later plead guilty to vehicular homicide in criminal court.
In the ensuing civil case, Bennett’s family sued the trucking company that owned the truck Seidl was driving. The trucking company, whose identity has been kept confidential per terms of the settlement agreement, agreed to pay $5,040,910 as the results of mediation.
Moving on from this case, the family of Ms. Bennett are seeking broader legislation that would require trucking companies to test interstate truck drivers for methadone.
