By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
EL RENO – A settlement has been approved closing a Canadian County civil action stemming from a crash that left several Yukon teens injured and demolished a street sign.
The City of Yukon will pay $43,000 as part of the agreement, according to an order signed by Canadian County District Judge Jack D. McCurdy II.
An “order approving settlement” was filed March 31 in Canadian County District Court.
The City of Yukon and a minor driver were co-defendants in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the mother of another minor injured in the May 25, 2021, traffic collision north of Main Street.
Judge McCurdy approved the attorneys’ joint application approving settlement.
The auto negligence suit, filed Feb. 22 by attorney Greg S. Keogh, refers to “physical and emotional injuries” and medical expenses incurred by the plaintiff.
In the City of Yukon’s answer filed March 1, attorney Justin Ashlock denied the injuries and damages were caused – or may be attributed to – its “alleged” negligence.
“Defendant City admits it has agreed to resolve the bodily injury claim of the minor … in the amount of $43,000 in exchange for a release in full of all claims against the City,” the court-filed response reads.
The minor defendant – represented by attorney Christopher Johnson – agreed to pay the plaintiff $25,000, according to McCurdy’s order.
The mother of the minor injured in the crash “is aware that by entering into this settlement agreement she will be precluded from asserting any additional claims against either defendant as a result of the accident which is the subject matter of the litigation,” the order reads.
“It is specifically understood that plaintiff is responsible for payment of all medical expenses, bills, and costs, known or unknown, which are related to the claim for damages in this case.”
Judge McCurdy awarded the plaintiff a total sum of $68,000, with $44,200 to the minor who was hurt and $23,800 for attorneys’ fees and costs.
The settlement and distribution are in “best interest of the minor,” according to the order signed by all three attorneys.
The $68,000 paid by the defendants “is not an admission of liability … but merely a payment made in compromise of a disputed claim in order to avoid further litigation.”
‘FAILED TO STOP’
Yukon police responded at 7:36 p.m. May 25, 2021, to the two-vehicle collision near Cedar and 9th Street.
Both drivers and two passengers were injured, according to a Yukon traffic collision report.
The driver of a 2011 Kia Sorrento, then 17, failed to stop for a stop sign at Cedar and 9th Street before entering the intersection.
The eastbound Kia was then struck in the passenger compartment by the front end of a northbound 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by another 17-year-old Yukon resident.
The Kia left the roadway and took out a stop/street sign at the northeast corner of the intersection, rolling into a front yard before coming to a rest on the driver’s side.
The force of the impact and roll ejected the vehicle’s spare tire airborne, and it struck the west side of a home in the 800 block of Cedar.
The Kia driver was cited for failure to stop after telling a Yukon police officer he didn’t see the stop sign.
Both teen drivers and two front-seat passengers – one in the Kia and one in the Chevy – sustained injuries in the crash.
The Kia passenger, then 16, was taken by a Pafford ambulance to OU Medical Center with head and external trunk injuries.
Three back-seat passengers in the Chevy, also Yukon minors, were not hurt.
Both damaged vehicles were removed by wreckers.
