Edward Schmidt, the husband of a pregnant woman and father of three boys who were killed in a car crash last summer has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the other driver for his involvement in the incident. He is seeking at least $200,000 in damages.
According to The Daily Southtown, 29-year-old Lindsey Schmidt was driving her three sons to Bible camp this past July when Sean Woulfe ran a stop sign while driving a pickup truck on his way to work. He was going more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit when he hit Mrs. Schmidt’s Subaru on the driver’s side. The impact pushed her vehicle off the road into a nearby field. The crash occurred in Beecher, Illinois, a small town about 40 miles south of Chicago.
Mrs. Schmidt and her children were all wearing seat belts or child safety seats at the time of the crash. Mrs. Schmidt and her youngest son, Kaleb, died at the scene. Her four-year-old son Weston died the following day at a hospital in Chicago, while the eldest son, Owen, succumbed to his injuries two days after the incident. Both boys were places in a medically-induced coma while in the hospital.
Public safety officers said there was no physical evidence that Woulfe was driving under the influence. The County State’s Attorney would not comment if he was texting while driving or otherwise on his phone at the time of the crash.
Edward Schmidt’s lawsuit alleges that Sean Woulfe did not yield the right of way, failed to obey a traffic device, was driving at an excessive speed, failed to control his car and that he did not keep a proper lookout.
Sean Woulfe, who is 25, pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of reckless homicide in August of 2017. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The Daily Southtown reported that Woulfe had received six traffic warnings or citations since 2008 for infractions including a citation for driving 91 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone. He did not have a prior criminal history.
Lawyers representing both sides of this case declined to comment on the lawsuit.
