Soldier’s family awarded $17m after his death in states

Court awards $17M to surviving family of soldier, wife and child killed in crash

A jury in the U.S. has awarded the surviving family of a Canadian soldier, his wife and young child killed in a 2015 crash in South Carolina with a US$17-million payment in an accident lawsuit.

Jeremiah Cross, 34, Crystal Cross, 32, and seven-month-old Graysen Cross were killed in a crash involving five vehicles. Cross was a private with 2 Service Battalion at Garrison Petawawa.

The Cross family was in their 2008 Honda SUV, which was in slowed traffic due to road construction.

It was struck by an 18-wheeler travelling at 113 km/h, the jury heard during the lawsuit.

The family was returning from a trip to Disney World in Florida.

The tractor-trailer smashed into several other vehicles before finally coming to a stop, also killing a Pennsylvania couple and bringing the death toll to five.

The driver of the truck, XPO Logistics Inc., and XPO Express Inc., were all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

For reasons unknown, XPO’s driver ignored posted signs warning about upcoming construction and a reduction in speed limit, instead keeping the truck at 113 km/ h in cruise-control, lawyers for the Cross family alleged.

There were no visible skid marks or signs that he attempted to stop or slow his 18-wheeler prior to the crash.

It was also alleged that the trucking companies failed in their obligation to properly train the driver and failed to ensure he met all state laws.

Lawyers also claimed that the companies knew or should have known that their driver operated their 40,000-pound vehicle while impaired.

Evidence was submitted at trial showing that after the deadly crash, the driver and his co-worker attempted to hide evidence related to alcohol usage, and the at-fault driver refused to undergo alcohol testing.

“This crash and these deaths were preventable. It is tragic any time someone dies in an unnecessary and avoidable way, but it is especially troubling to have an entire family taken away because of someone else’s careless and callous actions,” Mark Joye, the lawyer for the family said in a statement.

“There is a hole in this family now, one that can never be repaired. Greysen will never have the chance to grow up, his parents will never have the opportunity to raise their son, and the sense of loss their surviving family members feel resulted in the most emotional day in a courtroom I’ve ever seen. No jury award can change that.”

Cross joined the military three years ago and was training to be a vehicle technician.