KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge awarded a Kansas City, Missouri, mother nearly $3 million dollars in a wrongful death suit filed after her son was hit and killed by a U.S. Postal Service van.
United States District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., issued a 25-page ruling in favor of Cheri Williams, the plaintiff in the case.
William's son, Tony White, was riding his bicycle on July 1, 2020, when he was struck by the postal service van driven by Shaniel Barnes, according to the court documents.
Barnes made a cell phone call at 9:53 a.m. before she drove out of the James Crews Station, located at 2201 E. Truman Road, about four minutes later.
She was driving the Dodge Promaster van east on east 20th Street between Quincy and Denver avenues when her postal vehicle hit White.
White, 15, laid down his bike to the right before he was hit by the postal vehicle, according to the court document.
The document also states White may have been trying to stop to avoid the crash.
Barnes hit White with the front of the van and did not swerve before hitting the boy's bike, according to the court document.
KCMO police department traffic investigators found no evidence Barnes braked or slowed down before striking White.
"The significant post-collision movement of Barnes's vehicle indicates she was distracted and not keeping a careful lookout," the court document states. "A driver using the highest degree of care would react to striking and dragging a 15-year-old and a bicycle by braking or stopping well before the van traveled 400 feet."
Williams adopted Tony White and his brother, Timothy, on July 8, 2008.
Tony had been born exposed to illegal narcotics while his birth mother was pregnant, according to the court document.
Tony and his brother were removed from their natural mother.
In his ruling, Judge Gaitan awarded Cheri Williams money for loss based on Williams's annual salary, medical, funeral and burial costs, in addition to money for the loss of her son.
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