The sister of a woman who was killed after she was hit by a truck just outside the gates of Joint Base Charleston has settled with the at-fault driver and the owner of the truck for $5 million, the sister’s attorney reports.
Mark Bringardner of the Joye Law Firm in North Charleston reports that Mary Glore was walking to work as a cleaner for Goodwill, which has a location on the base, in the early morning hours in March 2018. As she was crossing a parking lot, James Brown was driving a terminal tractor trailer, a vehicle used to move trailers within a yard or warehouse facility. Brown pulled into the parking lot to make an illegal hard U-turn to the left and hit Glore, who died at the scene as a result of catastrophic injuries, Bringardner said.
Bringardner
Terminal Investment Corporation had leased the truck to Cooper/Ports America. Bringardner said that the truck was not street legal and its headlights weren’t working. He said he also received information from several witnesses that the drivers of the trucks operated them “like maniacs through that area all of the time.”
“This was not a one-off situation,” Bringardner said.
Brown denied hitting Glore, while Terminal said that Glore wasn’t in a pedestrian area and wasn’t wearing bright clothing, Bringardner said.
“They tried to do everything they could to put the blame on her, but at the end of the day, they weren’t extremely confident in their arguments,” Bringardner said.
Glore was her sister’s caretaker and had worked at the Goodwill for 30 years. She was well-liked and well-known on the base, Bringardner said.
“Mary was not a high-wage earner, but she meant the world to her sister and other family members,” Bringardner said. “To have someone that you rely on that is providing financial support and is your best friend taken away from you, it changed her sister’s life. This settlement will make sure that she is taken care of for the rest of her life.”
The leasing agreement contained a clause that said Cooper/Ports America would indemnify Terminal. Paul Tecklenburg of Tecklenburg & Jenkins in Charleston represented Brown and Cooper/Ports America. He could not be reached for comment.
Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzosclw
SETTLEMENT REPORT — MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH
Amount: $5 million
Injuries alleged: Death
Case name: Estate of Mary Glore vs. Cooper/Ports America, LLC, et al.
Court: Charleston County Circuit Court
Case No.: 2019-CP-10-1949
Mediator: Tom Wills of Charleston
Date of settlement: June 11
Attorney for plaintiff: Mark Bringardner of the Joye Law Firm in North Charleston
Attorneys for the defendant: Paul Tecklenburg of Tecklenburg & Jenkins in Charleston