Another lawsuit filed in fatal crash between deputy and firefighter
Joshua Douglas, a volunteer firefighter, has filed a personal injury suit against Greene County Deputy Gary McCormack and the sheriff’s office for a 2007 crash, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
The suit is a reversal of a previous suit where McCormack’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Douglas and the Ebenezer Fire Protection District.
McCormack himself was killed in the crash.
According to the News-Leader report, the crash in question took place in the early morning hours of October 6, 2007. Both Douglas and McCormack were responding to an emergency call and were racing toward the scene. They collided at the intersection of County Road WW and Farm Road 145.
Douglas alleges that McCormack was driving at excessive speeds and did not yield to Douglas’ vehicle.
The News-Leader also reports that a Missouri Highway Patrol crash reconstruction report has already been completed saying that Douglas was responsible for the crash. The report says it was Douglas who should have slowed at the intersection and his failure to slow at the stop sign led to the accident.
Douglas’ personal injury lawyer says that report is an opinion and that McCormack’s excessive speeding was the dominant factor in the accident.
