The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
The families of three Boy Scouts killed in a fiery wreck in 2006 have settled separate wrongful-death claims against the Boy Scouts of America and the estate of the assistant Scout leader who was driving the car.
The Boy Scouts of America did not admit to fault by agreeing to the settlement, and the families gave up their right to further legal action.
The crash happened when a sport utility vehicle driven by Assistant Scoutmaster John Oliver veered off a Southampton County road, hit a tree and burst into flames.
Luke Drewry, 12, Jackson Fox, 13, Carter Stephenson, 14, and Oliver, 43, died. The group was returning from a camping trip. The official cause of the crash was driver distraction, police said.
The Fox and Stephenson families will get $425,000 each from the Boy Scouts of America's insurance company, Liberty Mutual, and $25,000 each from Geico, the company that insured Oliver's car, according to court documents.
The Drewry family will get $550,000 from Liberty Mutual and $25,000 from Geico, documents showed.
Sam Drewry, father of Luke Drewry, said he didn't blame the Boy Scouts for the accident, adding that the organization offered the settlement.
"They weren't responsible for anything, in my opinion," he said. "They offered, and we accepted. It was out of the goodness of their hearts."
The Stephenson and Fox families declined to comment.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
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I do not have to justify my thoughts or what I feel about GEICO - the point is these families deserve their settlements - if not more. Lives were lost and it is unfortunate.
carrien
My point is that you are unnecessarily rude and angry sounding which is contrary to GEICO's culture. Furthermore, I also was a sales agent and I can't quite understand why you imply you didn't feel like an agent or that you didn't learn anything. Good grief, we had a solid week of in class learning, a State exam requiring at least 70% as well as continual training with underwriters. Sorry, Carrien, but you sound like you have a grudge against GEICO. This blog is not the appropriate avenue to air your gripes.
Driver distraction determined by
The admonition from the lone survivor...Mr. Oliver's son! Yes, unlike what this article fails to clarify, there was a survivor! From an earlier article in the Pilot and after the Scout recovered adequately, the police were able to question the lad. It was ascertained that the driver, his father, was distracted before the horrific accident no doubt with a question from one of the boys perhaps curious about the white fluffy stuff on the side of the road or the bovine in the field. Mr. Oliver through no direct fault of his own probably felt compelled to give an accurate assessment of nature as Scouts are want to do! Perhaps Mr. Applegate should fall back to Writing 101 when reporting the facts...who, what, where, when and leave the why to a higher entity!
Kate
What exactly is your point? My post is to those morons who post and insinuate that these grieving families do not deserve this money and should 'donate' it.
And yes, I shouldn't have even called myself an agent those first 5 years, because all we were trained to do was sell a policy in less than 10 minutes and get the person off the phone. Now, I am proud to say I actually know what I am doing and can honestly talk more about a coverage than just the GEICO definition that they give you to rattle off on the phone. In those 5 years, I read a lot of claims, since they were available to all. And GEICO is more than fair on any fatality I have read about. Anyone who thinks the families do not deserve the funds have clearly never lost a loved on like a son or daughter. It is a life altering experience and I hope to never experience it first hand.
And morons invoke anger in me hence my response. We are all obviously entitled.
Article is badly written but read carefully
to dr87448: No where in this article does it say anyone was sued by anybody. It says an insurance claim was paid out. It doesn't even say anyone pursued a claim. How do you think the families like reading that some in the community now think they are "vultures".
to msanders: Quote "There was no negligience mentioned. Grieving families? Hmmm...I bet they are thinking about how to spend their unexpected bonus! Sick." Insurance coverage does not require "negligence" to pay out. In a single car accident it seems hard to lay fault at the feet of anyone but the insured driver who apparently had insurance coverage.
to aalto: The Scouts did not offer and did not pay. Their insurance company did.
to jreid8231: "This money" was not available to the Scouts for other uses nor did it ever belong to them nor did they pay it. It was a covered insurance pay out.
The Pilot needs to re-write the article with all the facts as obviously it is being misinterpreted and they need to apologize to the families.
Sad story
You cant judge these families, and I am sure they know that money will not bring their children back. It was already said that the money could go to therpy or parents just not able to work-for sometime. I can understand that, and I would never judge them. If it were me, I dont know what I would do, how do you go on?? One more thing, I thought that their was one surviver the drivers son? I could be wrong, but I do believe it was the son that stated what caused the accident.
Vultures!!!!
Just a shame.....who gets sued next?
Should clarify -
I had the chance to read over many claims while working for that insurance company. And yes, they do offer without suit. Lowell Stanley is not needed to get a payout. Anyone remember the 4 visiting nurses at the Oceanfront? Fell in a vehicle to their deaths thanks to that rickity parking garage? That is one of them. The families didn't ask for it. But they were paid. You cannot put a price on LIFE. I sometimes wonder if these posters just spew crap to tick other people off. Surely this much ignorance doesn't live in Hampton Roads.
Half a million dollar price tag
That was the approximate amount accepted as payment for the loss of their child. Sad commentary to the parents. I have and always will maintain that if my child died as the result of someone's negligience, I would sue the life out of them and donate the money to charity, for no amount of money would be acceptable for the death of my child. I find it rather disgusting how opportunists make a quick buck. The article eludes to a "distracted driver", which could mean just about anything. There was no negligience mentioned. Grieving families? Hmmm...I bet they are thinking about how to spend their unexpected bonus! Sick.
Apparently....
Many of the posters here apparently have never been Scouts, never been involved with Scouting, or don't now know or understand what Scouting is about. Read the last sentence. They (Scouting) offered, we accepted -- Out of the goodness of their hearts. That's what scouting is all about! Character development.
I promise to do my best, To do my duty to God and my country, To help other people, and To obey the Law of the Pack. If you don't understand it, don't criticize it.