Jury awards $9.5M in case involving North Kitsap fire engine
SEATTLE — A King County Superior Court jury on Thursday awarded $9.5 million to the family of a Kingston man who died in a collision with a fire truck.
On the morning of July 4, 2014, Jason Foster was was riding a motor scooter on Miller Bay Road, approaching its intersection with West Kingston Road. The traffic signal turned yellow, and he continued. Entering the crossroads from the other direction was former firefighter intern Scott Sommers, driving North Kitsap Fire & Rescue Engine 85. Foster, 48, struck the truck, which wasn't on an emergency call, and died instantly.
Attorneys for the fire district and Sommers argued that Foster was driving unsafely, speeding and swerving, and lost control of his scooter before the collision. They said the truck was stationary, waiting to turn. Lawyers for Foster's family claimed he was operating the scooter prudently, had the right of way and had no reason to expect that the fire engine would pull into his lane.
The jury unanimously found that Foster had not been negligent and that the fire district was 100 percent responsible for causing the collision. It awarded $3 million each to Foster's widow and one minor son, $1.5 million to each of his two adult sons, and $100,000 to each of his five adult stepchildren.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/local/code-911/2017/05/18/jury-awards-95m-case-involving-north-kitsap-fire-engine/101846292/
