Elena Russell v. Cook's Truck & Tractor LLC

Summary

A Nevada state court judge declared a mistrial the day after opening statements in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal trucking accident.

Judge Ronald Israel announced his ruling due to a witness supposedly violating the restrictions of a motion in limine and came after a Clark County jury heard they would be asked to award millions of dollars to a woman who sustained severe injuries when a tractor trailer swerved into oncoming traffic and struck the vehicle she was riding in head on.

An attorney for plaintiff Elena Russell argued during opening statements that Cook’s Truck & Tractor LLC negligently hired the driver of the truck, Gregory Crawford, and that he could have avoided the collision with better training. However the company’s attorney told jurors the fault of the accident lay with another vehicle Crawford swerved to avoid.