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Allegations that shoddy workmanship led to a traffic accident that killed a North Webster woman in 1999 are the basis of a lawsuit filed recently in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
Trudy Detwiler, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene of an 11:25 a.m. Oct. 31, 1999, accident at the intersection of CRs 450N and 175E, near Leesburg.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Detwiler's spouse, Dennis Detwiler, and her daughter, Jennifer Detwiler Woolwine, as personal representatives of her estate, and her minor son, Joshua Detwiler. Mrs. Detwiler also has four other surviving daughters.
An unspecified amount is being sought on behalf of the estate of Trudy Detwiler and her spouse and children.
According to court documents, Trudy Detwiler took her car to Eby Ford Sales Inc. in Goshen on Oct. 26, 1999, to have the vehicle's brakes repaired. Eby Ford, an automobile dealership and repair garage, is the defendant in this case.
The lawsuit alleges that the car was negligently repaired and, on the day of the accident five days later, the brakes failed to work. As a result, Detwiler's car entered the intersection and was struck by another vehicle. Joshua Detwiler, 16, was a passenger in the car at the time of the accident, and he suffered head injuries and was airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne for medical care. The case also notes that his injuries resulted from the negligence of Eby Ford and that he is entitled to recover damages, including compensation for bodily injury, pain and suffering and emotional trauma.
Another passenger in Detwiler's car and the driver and a passenger in the other vehicle also were injured in the accident.
The attorneys for the Detwilers are Richard T. Truitt of Huntington and R. Steven Hearn and W. Douglas Lemon of Lemon, Armey, Hearn & Leininger, Warsaw.
