43
Firefighter’s family files lawsuit in death
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The family and estate of Warren firefighter Marc Titus, who died June 7 in a motorcycle accident on state Route 11 in Trumbull County, has sued the Predator Trucking Co. of Trumbull Avenue in Girard and one of its drivers.
The suit, filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, names Predator Trucking as the owner and operator of the tractor and dump trailer that overturned on Route 11 just before Titus crashed into it.
The suit names James L. Black, 48, of Haig Street, Sharon, Pa., as the driver of the truck, which overturned after striking the overpass at King-Graves Road in Fowler Township.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Titus, 46, of Cortland, struck the overturned truck in a poorly lit area of the highway while traveling north on a motorcycle at 11:22 p.m.
Titus, a 21-year veteran of the fire department and president of the Warren firefighters union, was not wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck’s dump trailer struck the overpass because it was in a partially upright position, the highway patrol said.
The lawsuit says the truck blocked the right northbound lane and part of the left lane when it overturned. The unlighted undercarriage of the rig was facing northbound traffic, the lawsuit said.
Titus crashed into the rig because of the negligence of the trucking company, Black and several unnamed John Does who are responsible for inspection and maintenance on the trucking company’s vehicles, the lawsuit said.
Trina Dash, safety director of Predator Trucking, said Friday afternoon the company knew nothing about the lawsuit and didn’t have any comment.
The defendants were negligent for raising the bed or failing to keep the bed down while driving on the highway, for failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle and for blocking highway traffic, the suit continues.
They also were negligent for failing to properly inspect, maintain and repair the vehicle and for failing to connect the wiring for the warning light that should have indicated when the bed was in a raised position, the suit said.
The legal action is assigned to Judge Andrew Logan and seeks at least $25,000 in damages from each defendant.