It’s been almost four years since Tony Carrick, 82, and wife, Linda, were involved in a car accident one afternoon in late August while driving down Harts Chapel Road off U.S. 231 North. Their car wrecked when a culvert directly underneath the asphalt on Harts Chapel Road gave way and the asphalt crumbled...
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It’s been almost four years since Tony Carrick, 82, and wife, Linda, were involved in a car accident one afternoon in late August while driving down Harts Chapel Road off U.S. 231 North. Their car wrecked when a culvert directly underneath the asphalt on Harts Chapel Road gave way and the asphalt crumbled.
According to Carrick, his vehicle became lodged in the resulting hole. “If I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, I don’t know what would’ve happened,” Carrick, who’s a retired law enforcement officer, said.
Carrick filed against the City in 2017, alleging the City knew of the road’s condition. The City of Shelbyville appealed in the case of Tony W. Carrick v. City of Shelbyville, saying it was not on notice of any alleged defective, unsafe, or dangerous conditions at the site, according to the appeal that came out Thursday.
It’s just another small step in the years-long case that Carrick said he just hopes won’t ever happen again. When asked to comment on the City’s move to appeal, Carrick and his wife said they wished to make no comment until they had spoken with their lawyer.
Carrick did state Friday during a brief interview at his home that he would like to see better communication from the City about road conditions such as the one he experienced on Harts Chapel Road. Things like warning signs would help prevent another person from getting into an accident, he said. “I hate to imagine what would’ve happen if a kid had been in the car,” he said.
According to Shelbyville City Attorney Ginger Shofner, the City won the motion for summary judgment last year, which asked the court to consider undisputed facts while applying the law, arguing that the law requires a judgment for the movant, or moving party.
This is actually difficult to do in Tennessee as the standards to win are high, Shofner said.
Now, the City has lost its summary judgement appeal, so the case will return to trial court for the trial. That mean, essentially, going back to “square one,” Shofner said.
“No final case decision has been made at this point and there is no financial impact to the City, at this point. Except for cost of the case, approximately $200-$300,” City Manager Joshua Ray told the T-G Friday.
