MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.
The parents of the only Missouri highway worker killed in Kansas City last year have sued the trucking company and driver involved in the fatal accident.
Michael York died June 11 when a semi truck hit him as he was crossing Interstate 670 in downtown Kansas City, near the Charlotte Street bridge. He had been checking light poles along the roadway.
York’s parents, Billie and Lavere York, of Raymore, filed a lawsuit last week against Phoenix Truck Lines, of Independence, and the driver, Ron C. Peters, claiming negligence. The suit alleged that Peters was traveling 60 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone and that he was fatigued. The petition also claimed the driver had taken an “excessive and inappropriate dosage of prescription medicine,” although it didn’t specify what medication was allegedly taken.
The petition also alleged Phoenix Truck Lines was negligent in failing to adequately test and maintain the vehicles brakes.
York was an employee of the Missouri Department of Transportation. According to MoDOT’s Web site, York was the most recent highway worker fatality in Missouri, and was the first worker killed in the Kansas City area since 2004. Altogether, 127 MoDOT workers have been killed in the line of duty since 1946, according to the agency.
The suit was filed by solo attorneys James D. Walker Jr., of Kansas City, and Gerald W. Furnell, of Lee’s Summit. Walker was out of the office on Friday, and Furnell didn’t return a call seeking comment.
A spokeswoman for Phoenix said she was not aware of the lawsuit and declined comment.
