INEZ – Zachary Todd, a 19 year old resident of Inez, received serious and permanent spinal injuries when his pickup skidded on a diesel spill at the junction of Ky 3 and Ky 645 near Inez and crashed, he has alleged in a civil action filed last week by Kyle Salyer of Kirk Law Firm.
In a story of June 6, 2008 in this paper, it was reported that an accident had occurred two days earlier at Rt. 645 when a truck belonging to Schlumberger Technology Corporation was traveling along Rt. 3 when a vehicle in front of the truck lost a leaf spring which damaged a fuel tank on the Schlumberger truck, resulting in a spill on the roadway. Emergency personnel estimated that 60 gallons of fuel was spilled and crews worked to clean up the spill.
Todd contends in his lawsuit that Schlumberger, under Kentucky law, had a duty to clean up the roadway but failed to do so. Todd further claims that when he came upon the spill later that day, no markers or warnings were there and that he was not alerted that there was a problem. He alleges that Schlumberger and its driver, Michael J. McCoy of Inez, had abandoned the accident scene without removing the fuel and without leaving some type of warning. Todd claims that when his Chevy pickup hit the spill spot, that he lost control of the vehicle and rolled it onto its top and that he sustained very serious injuries for which he has undergone extensive medical treatment. He contends that the crash resulted from Schlumberger's negligence.
Todd seeks compensation for past and future medical care and treatment, for property damage to his vehicle, for lost past and future wages and for his pain and suffering.
"This is one of those rather scary aspects of driving. You're rolling along on a clear summer day. The last thing you expect is to skid on oil, flip over and fight for your life," John Kirk said. "When Mr. Todd rolled across 645, fortunately he hit no one else."
