Patrick and Delena Weaver have filed a lawsuit against Energy Transfer Partners due to the death of their son, 18-year-old Jonathan Weaver.
The family claims that Energy Transfer Partners driver James Darling was to blame for the accident that killed their son due to his distracted driving near Big Spring.
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Reports from the accident that were compiled by the Texas Department of Public Safety and first responders indicate that Darling was found in his truck after the accident with his phone still in his hand.
There is also a note in the file that indicates it can be heard over a police officer’s body camera that the man had a pornographic movie playing on his phone at the time of the accident.
The accident that killed Weaver occurred in April of 2019. The report indicated that the boy’s truck had been compressed by at least 6 feet during the accident.
The attorney for the Weaver family is Chip Brooker. He stated that this was one of the most extreme cases of distracted driving that he has seen.
Energy Transfer Partners is a pipeline company that is easily worth $1 billion. There was no reason that the company could not have had a monitor system in their company leased trucks to make sure that drivers complied with the law.
Distracted driving due to cell phone usage is becoming something that is more common, and the Weavers are hoping that this lawsuit against a corporate giant will create a mass wakeup call on the situation.
Energy Transfer Partners have expressed their deepest condolences to those who were killed in the accident and their families. They declined to speak regarding any specific employees. They state that accident reconstruction does not support the claims made by the family, however, they will allow it to be settled during litigation proceedings.