Wreck Case Settled

 
By Jerrie Whiteley
Herald Democrat

Just days before potential jurors were to report to the Federal Courthouse in Sherman concerning a civil case in which a fiery tractor-trailer wreck killed 10 people south of Sherman back in 2004, the case settled.

On Sept. 24, 2004, Miroslaw Jozwiak’s truck crossed a median on U.S. Highway 75 and plowed into a sport utility vehicle and a pickup. The truck carried seven people, five of whom died. They were part of an extended family that worked as roofers and their families were the complainants in the case that settled Monday. The five people killed in the SUV were a McKinney mother, her three young children and their grandmother. Their families have already settled civil actions stemming from the wreck in 2005.

In March of 2006, Jozwiak pleaded guilty to 10 counts of manslaughter and two charges of aggravated assault and received a 10-year prison sentence.

On Monday, Dean Gresham, who represented the roofers’ families, said sending Jozwiak to prison was only part of the solution to the problem that led to the wreck. He said the families also wanted justice from the people who owned the trucking company for which Jozwiak worked.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of the settlement. When you weigh the risk of going forward with the families having to relive the tragedy and the details,” Gresham said, “the settlement was the best way to go for the families.”

“They will receive very reasonable compensation,” was all Gresham would say about the terms of the settlement citing a confidentiality clause in the agreement. He said the case will make sure that Vladimir Kubica (and his wife) will never operate a trucking company again. The couple owned KV Trucking and KV Express, which were both trucking companies. Jozwiak worked for the couple on the day the Sherman wreck happened. Gresham said miles traveled equals money in the trucking business and, “They turned a blind eye” when their drivers failed to follow rules about the number of miles drivers are supposed to travel before resting.

A phone call to the attorney representing KV Express and the Kubicas was not returned Monday afternoon. Gresham said the settlement Monday ends all litigation related to the wreck.