From Mountain Press
SEVIERVILLE — The alleged driver in last month’s fatal wreck went from the hospital to the jail on an unrelated charge this week, and now he’s facing the first legal entanglements related to the wreck in the form of two $10 million civil complaints filed on behalf of the families of the victims.
Saying they hope to use a civil judgment to apply pressure to keep him from driving again, lawyers representing the families filed lawsuits against 21-year-old Tyler Schaeffer Wednesday. Schaeffer was driving south on Chapman Highway Sept. 16, when he allegedly crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and struck a van carrying members of Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, who were returning from a retreat in Gatlinburg. The head-on collision knocked the van off the road and caused a fire.
Seymour High School student Courteney Kaliszewski died in the wreck, along with 45-year-old Jeffery Trussell, who was driving the van.
The lawsuits say the families are seeking $10 million a piece. However, local attorney Bryan Delius, who is representing Trussell’s family, said they want to make sure Schaeffer can never drive again. “It is our stated goal to utilize whatever resources is available through the civil process of this state to prevent Tyler Schaeffer from harming another person with a motor vehicle,” Delius said.
If a jury returns a judgment against Schaeffer, he would not legally be able to drive until he satisfies the terms of the decision. …MORE
Schaeffer picked up on burglary charge after being released from hospital