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Settlement amounts for families of Marine recruits finalized by Trumbull Probate Court
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The families of three Marine Corps recruits killed in a March 31, 2010, crash on state Route 5 just west of Warren each will get about $350,000 in the settlement with Brookfield trucking company Nick Strimbu Inc.
The settlements, including distributions among the various members of each family, were approved Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
The amounts were part of a settlement negotiated during mediation last month in common pleas court, but the distributions had to be finalized Wednesday by Judge Thomas A. Swift of probate court.
The recruits were Michael T. Theodore Jr., 19, of Howland; Joshua Sherbourne, 21, of Southington; and Zachary A. Nolen, 19, of Newton Falls and Mineral Ridge.
All three were in the back seat of a car stopped at the traffic light at Route 5 and Burnett Street in Warren Township that was struck from behind by the tractor-trailer of Donald P. Williams Jr. of Austintown, who drove for Nick Strimbu Inc.
The driver of the car, Marine recruiter Charles Keene of Youngstown, and another recruit in the front seat, Carl W. McDermott of Masury, were seriously injured, as were people in other vehicles.
Williams, who had anti-anxiety medications in his system at the time for which he had no prescription, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for causing the crash.
Each family appeared for a hearing before Judge Swift, at which time the judge asked questions of Atty. Thomas Wilson, representing the trucking company, and the attorneys representing the families.
Atty. James Fredericka also attended two of the hearings because of his appointment to represent the interests of two minor children, sisters of two of the recruits.
The insurance carried by Nick Strimbu Inc. had a limit of $1 million, which was applied to the settlement.
The two owners of the company, brothers William Strimbu and Nick Strimbu, agreed to lend the company $800,000 of their money to complete the settlement, according to court documents.
The company has been in the family for four generations, and the owners didn’t want to lose it through bankruptcy, so they were willing to contribute $800,000 as long as it would settle all claims, court documents said.
In addition to the $350,000 for each family, Atty. Mark Gervelis received about $161,000 for his work on the Theodore case, and Atty. Martin F. White received about $142,000 each for his work on the Nolen and Sherbourne cases.
Unspecified amounts of between $4,000 and $100,000 are being paid to other individuals injured in the accident, court documents said.
The Strimbu insurance paid $9,000 to the federal government for the cost of the recruiter’s demolished vehicle.
A separate settlement of $90,000 was approved for the Sherbourne family resulting from uninsured motorist coverage on Joshua Sherbourne.
“There is no amount of money that can be provided that will overcome the loss,” Judge Swift said as he talked with the Theodore family. “I certainly sympathize and empathize with what you have gone through. What I’m trying to do is provide as much closure as possible.”