The family of a deceased hip-hop singer is suing CRST and Daimler Truck North America over a fatal crash that occurred this past March in Alabama.
In a case filed on Sept. 2 in Georgia’s State Court of Gwinnett County, the surviving children of Angie Stone seek damages for negligence. According to the lawsuit, the truck’s collision avoidance system failed and the truck driver wasn’t paying attention. In addition to the trucking company and truck manufacturer, the truck driver and the driver of Stone’s vehicle were named in the lawsuit.
“As a direct result of the defendants’ negligent acts and omissions, Angie Stone suffered severe personal injuries, conscious pain and suffering, shock, fright and terror, and ultimately death,” the lawsuit states.
The crash
Following a concert in Mobile, Ala., Angie Stone and her bandmates were traveling in a 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van during the early-morning hours of March 1.
According to court documents, the van was traveling north on Interstate 65 when the driver lost control. The van then exited the roadway to the left. When the driver attempted to steer the van back onto the interstate, it overturned onto its driver side and came to rest in the left lane of I-65 North. The occupants, including Angie Stone, survived the initial crash. Several vehicles saw the overturned van and offered assistance.
“With the help of these Good Samaritans, five of the nine occupants were able to exit the Sprinter van,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit says a CRST tractor-trailer arrived to the scene about 4:25 a.m. and crashed into the van as Stone and Sheila Hopkins were still trying to get out. Stone died from the crash, and Hopkins suffered injuries.
The plaintiffs allege that the truck driver wasn’t paying attention and that the truck manufacturer’s collision mitigation system and automatic emergency brakes did not work.
“Because (the truck driver) was not paying proper attention to the roadway ahead of him and because the Detroit Assurance 5.0 collision mitigation system did not warn (the driver) of the disabled Sprinter van or automatically brake the CRST tractor-trailer, Wilkinson slammed the front of the CRST tractor-trailer into the disabled Sprinter van at highway speeds, without ever applying the brakes.”
Daimler did not respond to Land Line’s request for comment.
Stone, 63, was a singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. In 1999, her song “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B charts. LL
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