Unexpectedly losing a family member is a difficult thing to overcome. It’s even more difficult when you lose more than one, and when those lost include your significant other and child. This is what happened to Jessica Lybrand of Middletown, Pennsylvania. Last month on October 12, Jessica lost her husband and child in a “triple fatal I-83 crash” and is taking legal action as a result by teaming up with Feldman Shephard, a law firm in Philadelphia.
Unexpectedly losing a family member is a difficult thing to overcome. It’s even more difficult when you lose more than one, and when those lost include your significant other and child. This is what happened to Jessica Lybrand of Middletown, Pennsylvania. Last month on October 12, Jessica lost her husband and child in a “triple fatal I-83 crash” and is taking legal action as a result by teaming up with Feldman Shephard, a law firm in Philadelphia.
According to police reports from that tragic day, “29-year-old Jack Satterfield, of Mississippi, was drunk when his tractor-trailer hit and crashed into multiple vehicles along northbound Interstate 83 Northbound.” Unfortunately, three lives were lost in the accident, including Jessica’s husband, 24-year-old Zachary Lybrand and her 16-month-old daughter. Ethan Van Bochoven, a 22-year-old Messiah College student also died in the accident.
Satterfield, the driver who caused the accident, “was driving on a suspended license and had been previously charged in the state of Mississippi in connection to drug possession,” according to court documents. As a result, Jessica argues that “Satterfield should have never been on the road.”
It’s important to note that the accident occurred near a construction site. That said, in addition to blaming Satterfield, Jessica and her legal team also want the “construction company, J.D. Eckman, to be held accountable for not displaying enough road signs to slow down, as well as the trucking company, Greentree Logistics, that Satterfield was working for.” In a statement, Jessica said:
“If GreenTree would have done the safety precautions that they need to do and the investigation that they need to do for their employees, Jack [Satterfield] would have never been there. He’s from Mississippi, he killed my baby from Pennsylvania…I will make sure that laws in Pennsylvania get changed, that the company is held responsible, that the contractor is held responsible and that Jack is held responsible.”
Mark Tanner, an attorney with Feldman Shepard, chimed in and said:
“Those of you that drive the I-83 corridor know that since this construction project began, that road in it of itself presents many hazards, particularly to an impaired driver. The first responders in that area know it all too well, they’ve seen an eighty percent increase in traffic accidents since they began.”
Both Tanner and Jessica hope their case goes to trial within the next 18 months.
Satterfield survived the accident and is currently behind bars at Dauphin County prison. So far he’s been charged with “homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence,” among others.
Sources:
Wife files lawsuit in triple fatal I-83 accident in Dauphin County
Husband and daughter killed in triple-fatal crash, Wife will now file lawsuit in Philadelphia
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