McAlester News-Capital, McAlester, OK

Local News

July 31, 2009

Lawsuit discussed behind closed doors

By Kandra Wells

Thursday night’s special session of the McAlester City Council lasted 50 minutes, with 46 of them spent in an executive session to talk about a pending lawsuit.

Councilors took no action after the closed-door session to discuss $375,000 in claims from a family whose daughter was killed when their car hit a city trash truck. Mary Baird, 14, was killed in the Feb. 8 collision on U.S. Highway 270 near the city landfill.

A police report indicates the truck’s brakes were defective at the time of the wreck.

Also Thursday, councilors Chris Fiedler, Ward 1; John Browne, Ward 3; Haven Wilkinson, Ward 4; Sam Mason, Ward 6; and Kevin Priddle, mayor, approved a contract for auditing services for the last fiscal year.

Councilors Donnie Condit, Ward 2, and Vice Mayor Buddy Garvin, Ward 5, did not attend the meeting. During a regular council meeting on Tuesday, Condit had announced he would be unable to attend Thursday’s meeting, as well as the next regular council session, due to “occupational constraints.” He is the vice principal at Puterbaugh Middle School.

Thursday, the city panel heard from Audit and Finance Committee Chairman Steve Foster. Foster recommended the city approve the $35,250 auditing contract with Hulme, Rahhal, Henderson, Inc. and unanimously approved the bid, all within three minutes.

The council then recessed into executive session. The agenda item for the session was “Discuss pending claim(s) from Paul Baird, Ernestine Baird and Mary Baird, deceased.”

Paul and Ernestine Baird, the parents of Mary Baird, filed three claims against the city in April and the claims were then sent to Traveler’s Insurance Group, an insurance company for the city, according to City Manager Mark Roath.

Roath also said last week the trash truck driver was still working for the city’s sanitation department, but was no longer a truck driver. The city manager declined further comment on the matter because the litigation is pending.

Last week, District Attorney Jim Bob Miller said he planned to charge the driver, Caleb Butler, with negligent homicide, but charges had not been filed as of this morning. A secretary at the District Attorney’s office, Tanya McClendon, said this morning she was told the charges are pending a probable cause affidavit from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which was expected this morning.

Butler has not responded to a message left for him by the News-Capital at City Hall seeking his comment on the wreck.

An OHP accident report indicates that an inspection of the truck after the wreck revealed the left middle and right rear brakes were three-quarters of an inch out of adjustment.

The trash truck had been crossing the highway’s westbound lane at Mitchell Road when it was hit by the Baird vehicle. The accident report by Trooper Jeremy Tollman indicates the truck “failed to stop at a stop sign, entering onto U.S. 270.” Tollman’s report has also revealed that the truck “Left 39 feet of skid mark ending directly parallel at the stop sign from its rear axle,” and that Butler stated he knew the brakes were defective prior to the accident.

Contact Kandra Wells at kwells@mcalesternews.com.

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