Court reinstates ruling in motorcycle accident wrongful-death suit

Posted on Apr 27, 2008

The widow of a Middletown man killed in a 2004 motorcycle accident is entitled to additional compensation from the city tow truck company that was held responsible for her husband’s death, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled last week.

In a decision handed down on Friday, the court reinstated a 2006 Frederick County Circuit Court ruling awarding Christa Wright $942,535 in economic losses.

Wright had already been awarded nearly $20,000 for hospital and funeral expenses from the wrongful-death suit she filed against Minnick’s Auto Repair in Frederick County Circuit Court.

Wright sued the Winchester tow truck company, claiming Minnick’s caused the death of her husband, Anthony Wright, 32.

Anthony Wright died on the day after the July 25, 2004, accident in which his motorcycle crashed on Airport Road in Frederick County.

According to the suit, Minnick’s tow truck driver Bernard W. Everhart Jr. backed into the roadway without looking for traffic, which caused Anthony Wright to crash while trying to avoid the truck.

He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to the Virginia State Police.

The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the original verdict in the wrongful-death suit, which was tried twice in Frederick County Circuit Court.