Published: February 25, 2009 11:45 pm      

Accident victim's widow settles suit

Louisa — A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the widow of a man killed in a 2007 traffic accident in Lawrence County has been settled out of court.

Terms of the settlement of Sharon Kirk’s lawsuit are confidential, said attorney John C. Kirk, who represented Sharon Kirk and the estate of her late husband, Joey Kirk, in the suit.

“I can only say that justice was done as far as it can be done,” he said. “Nothing, of course, could compensate for the lost life of this very, very good man and for the suffering his wonderful wife, Sharon, has endured.”

The case had been set to go to trial March 17, John Kirk said.

Joey Kirk, 42, an employee of the Martin County School District, was killed on Dec. 14, 2007, when a Ford F-150 pickup driven by Richard S. Gussler III of Lowmansville slammed into the rear of the Toyota Camry in which Joey Kirk was a passenger. The accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. 23 and Ky. 2565.

Gussler, 31, pleaded guilty in August to a charge of second-degree manslaughter stemming from the crash and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In addition to Gussler, Sharon Kirk’s suit named as a defendant Gussler’s former employer, Mountain City Ford of Inez. The vehicle Gussler was driving at the time of the accident was owned by the dealership.

The suit claimed Mountain City Ford was negligent when it hired Gussler to work as a salesman — a job that required him to operate the dealership’s vehicles on public roadways — due to his lengthy record of traffic-related offenses, including driving under the influence, speeding and operating on a suspended license.

John Kirk said he and his law partner, Jeff Hinkle, both felt a personal connection to Sharon Kirk’s case because Joey Kirk was a classmate of theirs at Sheldon Clark High School.

“Jeff and I are very happy that we were able to settle this matter at mediation and not have to put Sharon through the ordeal of reliving this tragedy at a trial,” he said.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.