EVERETT — The City Council has approved a settlement in a 2012 car accident that killed a Whidbey Island man.
The city will pay $25,000 to the two minor children of Mitchell S. Casey.
The accident took place June 23, 2012, in the 4300 block of Broadway, just north of the Evergreen Cemetery. The northbound lane makes a hard right turn onto a bridge over the onramp to I-5. North of the intersection, the road is designated for one-way southbound traffic.
Casey, who was 28, was heading north on Broadway in his truck when he apparently missed the turn and hit a guardrail. He later died in the hospital from his injuries.
Casey’s estate alleged the city was responsible for negligent roadway design, specifically that the signs and markings where the road divides were insufficient.
The settlement puts an end to the final lawsuit filed against Everett in connection with two crashes at the same location just north of the Evergreen Cemetery.
The bill approved by the council stated that the money awarded to the children should “preferably go toward their educations.”
That part isn’t enforceable, city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said. “That’s just the city’s preference.”
The city does not admit liability in the settlement. The council voted 6-0 to approve it, with Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher absent.
That part of Broadway also came under scrutiny in another lawsuit. In 2010, two young people were killed and two others seriously injured when Camille Spink missed the same turn and crashed head-on into them.
Spink was found to have been intoxicated and pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and assault. She was sentenced to seven years in prison and released Aug. 24, 2015, after serving a little more than four and a half years.
Luis Reyna and Marco Ortiz, who survived the crash, and the estates of the Sheena Blair and Martin Ramirez all sued the city for negligence in the design of the roadway. The city settled those suits in 2015 for a total of $385,000 and was dropped as a defendant.
The civil case is still proceeding against Spink.
No changes have been made to the intersection since the two accidents, but the city does plan to replace all the signs and flashing beacons with more reflective and higher-intensity equipment as part of a citywide upgrade program, Pembroke said.
The city also is planning more safety features to the road, including raised center and edge lines, reflective raised pavement markers and a curb with reflective markers to delineate the turn lane.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com.
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