Parents File Lawsuit Against Driver in ATV Incident Despite Police Report

A Pettis County, Missouri family has sued the truck driver who accidentally hit their 10-year-old daughter when she ran the ATV she was riding in front of his truck, despite the fact that the police have already said he had no chance to avoid the child.

Last July, Jordan Keith, 10, was riding the ATV in her yard. However, she swerved into the road and drove in front of a pickup truck driven by Richard Robertson, 61, of Sedalia. She suffered massive internal injuries and later died.

Robertson was not charged. Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond said charges were not filed because the investigation determined that Jordan Keith:

"ran out into the road in front of the vehicle, and he just couldn't stop in time. It appeared that there wasn't anything reckless on the part of the driver of the vehicle. It was a really bad situation and a tragic death."

Despite this, Michael and Lesli Keith, Jordan's parents, have sued. The lawsuit filed in Pettis County Circuit Court alleges that Robertson failed to "stop, swerve, slow or sound a warning" as he approached Jordan Keith, and that he "failed to keep a careful lookout and drove at an excessive speed leading up to the accident."

Last time I read my Driver's Handbook I didn't see it note anywhere that I had to honk my horn when approaching someone in their yard (when I am in the street). In fact, sounding your horn in a non-emergency situation is in fact a violation, in my state (which of course, could be different than Missouri).

And since the police department already said Robertson was not at fault, I don't see much merit in this case. Then again, this is America, possibly the most litigious country in the world.