After 11 out of 12 jurors agreed that Ford Motor Co. was at fault for the car accident that left 22-year old Brian Cole dead, they agreed to a settlement with the minor league baseball player's family.  Ford agreed to pay $131 million to the family before the jury could decided on any punitive damages.

Cole, a New York Mets AA player, was returning home from spring training in March, 2001 in his Ford Explorer Sport, when it veered off the Florida highway and rolled over.  Cole was ejected from the vehicle and incurred serious injuries, which he later succumbed to at Saint Luke's Hospital. 

In the case, Cole's family alleged that the Ford Explorer he drove was unstable and did not perform to the way in which it was marketed.  Additionally, they believe that there was sufficient evidence that Cole was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, and that the Ford's defective seat belt failed to prevent him from being thrown from the vehicle.   

Last Wednesday, 70-year old Adopt-A-Highway volunteer Cornelius "Corky" Van Handel was killed in a tragic pedestrian accident.

Van Handel was hit when clearing litter on the side of U.S. 41 when he was hit and killed by 31-year old Lucia Torres-Bisarraga's Toyota Corolla.  Bisarraga claims she was cut off by a black car before she ran into the shoulder of the road and hit Van Handel.  She told police officials that in trying to avoid the black car she slammed on her brakes, causing her to swerve into the shoulder where Van Handel was working.  

State Patrol authorities continue to ask for witnesses to the accident.  One of the two passengers with Bisarraga mentioned a black car, however neither could provide a specific description of the vehicle, none of the people in the car saw Van Handel before the accident, and no witnesses mentioned a black car when interviewed after the accident.  

Bisarraga has been charged with operating a vehicle without a license causing the death of another and failure to control her vehicle.  

Accident reconstruction experts and investigators continue to look into the accident to determine exactly what happened.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Van Handel's family and friends during this difficult time. 

A toddler died in a four-wheeler accident earlier this week. According to police reports, the accident occurred in Escanaba. 

The toddler's father apparently was driving an ATV into his garage when the vehicle flipped over and landed on top of them both. When medical officials arrived to the scene of the accident, both were taken to a nearby hospital, where the toddler was later pronounced dead. 

If you or anyone you know has lost a loved one in an ATV accident, contact the Green Bay ATV accident attorneys of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C., at 800-242-2874. 

A man involved in an accident that killed a student last week was fined $401. According to police reports, the fines were for "towing with improper safey chains" and having "coupling/cables that fail to meet standards." 

The accident involved a trailer that became separated from the man's truck and hit another car. The other car was carrying a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student, who died of injuries related to the accident. 

If you or anyone you know has lost a loved one in a car accident, contact the Green Bay wrongful death attorneys of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C., at 800-242-2874. 

A woman admitted to allowing her child to die Tuesday. According to testimony, she left her baby alone in the bathtub August 2007.

The baby died while in the bathtub, and the mother tried to hide the child by putting the baby in a plastic cooler. 

According to court recrod, the mother was sentenced to six months in jail. If you have lost a loved one due to someone else's negligent care, contact the Green Bay wrongful death attorneys of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C., at 800-242-2874. 

A Green Bay woman was killed in a car accident Tuesday morning. The woman's car had stalled earlier, and while the woman was waiting for a tow truck to arrive, another car rear-ended her car and killed her. 

The driver of the tow truck witnessed the accident and called police and medical officials immediately. When medical officials arrived to the scene, the woman was already dead. Police investigators said the investigation is still ongoing and would not release the names of either driver.

If you have lost a loved one in an auto accident, contact the Green Bay wrongful death lawyers of Habush, Habush & Rottier, S.C., at 800-242-2874. 

On Friday morning, a Randolph man was involved in an accident in Dodge County when his vehicle left the road. The man was northbound on County Trunk G near County Trunk CP when he went off the road in a curve.

The vehicle went down an embankment and overturned about four times before finally coming to rest at the bottom. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

If someone you know has been killed in a crash, contact the Green Bay wrongful death lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier, SC at 800-242-2874.