The mother of a teenager killed in a fiery Bay Minette crash in 2020 has commenced a lawsuit. On Saturday, July 31st, a news report disclosed that Cheyanne Strickland filed a negligence suit against multiple parties responsible for the Bay Minette crash. The latter include the parents of the driver and a University of Alabama fraternity.
The report revealed that 17-year-old Blayne Shackelford, 17-year-old John Avery Blackmon, and 15-year-old Ty Drinkard died after their vehicle went off County Road 39 in Bay Minette. The accident happened in June 2020. The plaintiff, Strickland, is the mother of Blackmon.
The woman alleges that negligence led to the death of her son. She claimed in the lawsuit that on June 1st, Matthew and Maria Shackelford, Blayne’s parents, allowed the teens to operate a boat on Blakely River while drinking. Matthew was reportedly on the boat with the teens, so he had knowledge that they were drinking.
The lawsuit claimed that Matthew provided Blayne with an Infiniti Q-50, which the teens used to drive to Powell’s Grocery in Stockton. After leaving the grocery store, the teen traveled at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour when he turned onto County Road 39. Unfortunately, he lost control of the car, causing it to flip and go airborne.
The lawsuit included the University of Alabama fraternity, Sigma Nu. Strickland claimed that they used a fake ID to entice Blackmon to join them. Further, she claimed they sent the ID to her son in May, thereby performing an act of negligence that contributed to his death.
A negligence lawsuit allows victims of car accidents to seek redress for the harm caused to them by the fault party’s carelessness. To learn more about how it works, and whether you can file one, contact our Alabama auto accident lawyers.
