$10.5 Million Settlement After Commercial Driver Kills Two Teens in Head-On Collision

Shortly after 6 a.m. on July 29, 2022, a northbound Chevrolet 3500 truck crossed the center line on Route A, about four miles south of St. Joseph, Missouri, and struck a southbound 2014 Ford Fiesta head-on. The truck was operated by Joshua Gladieux and owned by Leavcon II Inc.

Alexander Brown, 19, of St. Joseph, and a 14-year-old passenger were killed in the collision. The Fiesta's driver, Alexis Lewis, 20, survived but was airlifted to KU Medical Center with severe injuries, including a hemorrhage beneath the tissue covering the brain, fractures of the humerus and femur, pulmonary contusions, and lacerations to the liver and spleen.

Gladieux told investigators he swerved to avoid a deer in the road. Plaintiff counsel challenged that account with two lines of evidence: eyewitness testimony from people who observed the crash, and black box data from the truck showing the cruise control remained engaged as the vehicle crossed the center line. An active cruise-control system is inconsistent with a sudden evasive maneuver.

Five plaintiff families filed separate wrongful-death and personal-injury actions, consolidated in Buchanan County Circuit Court before Judge Kate Schaefer under case numbers 22BU-CC01168 and 22BU-CC01605. Russell Purvis of DiPasquale Moore represented one of the plaintiff families alongside co-counsel from Montee Law Firm and Spencer, Tieman and Hicks.

On January 10, 2024, the parties reached a global settlement totaling $10.5 million. The funds were drawn from Leavcon's $1 million primary policy and $9 million umbrella policy, a $300,000 personal policy covering Gladieux, and a $200,000 policy from Lewis's own insurer. Missouri Lawyers Media ranked the result among the top plaintiff verdicts and settlements of 2024.