The household of Grammy-nominated R&B legend Angie Stone has filed a wrongful demise lawsuit following the tragic freeway accident that claimed the singer’s life within the early morning hours of March 1, 2025.
In response to court docket paperwork obtained by WSBTV, the lawsuit filed on Sept. 2 in Gwinnett County by Angie Stone’s kids, Diamond Stone and Michael D’Angelo Archer, claims that Stone survived the preliminary crash when the Sprinter van she was using in overturned. Whereas passersby helped 5 of the 9 passengers escape, Stone was nonetheless making an attempt to exit when a tractor-trailer slammed into the van. She was ejected and pinned beneath, finally dying from her accidents, the lawsuit claims. Stone’s household believes that the tractor-trailer driver was inattentive on the time of the crash and that the automobile’s collision avoidance system didn’t perform correctly, amongst different claims.
Angie Stone Was Allegedly Nonetheless Alive Throughout The First Crash, In accordance To The Swimsuit
Stone, together with a number of members of the family and bandmates, was touring northbound by Montgomery County, Alabama, after performing the night time earlier than in Cellular on March 1. The group was being transported in a 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van as a part of a contracted journey from Atlanta to Cellular and again. The van was owned or operated by Good 2 Go Cafe LLC, Government Elite Transportation, LLC, and/or Joseph L. Robinson, and pushed by Leethel Carter, the lawsuit alleges.
Whereas en route again to Atlanta within the pre-dawn hours, tragedy struck. Round 4:00 AM, WSBTV stories that the motive force, Carter, reportedly misplaced management of the Sprinter van whereas touring on I-65 North. The automobile veered off the left facet of the street and, in an try and appropriate the trail again onto the freeway, the van flipped onto its driver’s facet and got here to a cease within the left lane.
Regardless of the van overturning, the lawsuit claims that Stone and a number of other others inside survived the preliminary crash with out life-threatening accidents. A number of passengers started making an attempt to exit the automobile, aided by different motorists who stopped to assist. Good Samaritans used their hazard lights to alert oncoming site visitors, and 5 of the 9 passengers managed to flee the wreckage.
The Lawsuit Claims A Second Collision Occurred, Killing Stone
However at roughly 4:25 AM, a CRST tractor-trailer pushed by Jared Wilkinson allegedly approached the scene within the left lane at full freeway pace. The truck, a 2021 Freightliner, was outfitted with Detroit Assurance 5.0 — a collision mitigation system designed to detect obstacles within the street and routinely brake if the motive force fails to react.
In response to the lawsuit, Wilkinson was allegedly inattentive to the street and didn’t see the disabled Sprinter van. Moreover, the Detroit Assurance system in his automobile didn’t warn the motive force or activate the brakes, the lawsuit claimed. Because of this, the CRST tractor-trailer slammed into the overturned van with out braking, inflicting a catastrophic secondary collision.
In the intervening time of impression, Stone was nonetheless contained in the Sprinter van, making an attempt to flee. The collision’s power was immense, ejecting the star from the automobile and pinning her beneath it. She remained aware and trapped below the wreckage earlier than finally succumbing to her accidents, based on the swimsuit.
Now, the household of Stone is pursuing authorized motion towards a number of events, together with the transportation firms, the van driver, the tractor-trailer driver, and the producers of the Detroit Assurance 5.0 system—Daimler Truck North America LLC and Detroit Diesel Company.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on a number of fronts: from the hiring and oversight of the van driver, to the tractor-trailer driver’s failure to take care of correct consciousness, and the obvious malfunction of the collision avoidance system designed to forestall such a tragedy.
Stone’s household is searching for compensation for medical bills, authorized charges, damages, and another aid the court docket finds applicable.
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