JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a four-week trial, a Nassau County jury reached a unanimous verdict of $141.5 million Wednesday evening in the case of a logging truck crash that happened in March 2020, according to attorney Curry Pajcic.
Three people were seriously injured in the crash, including a 5-year-old girl who suffered permanent brain damage, Pajcic said. The driver of the truck had a lengthy criminal and traffic violation history, and Pajcic said the company that hired him failed to do a background check.
“This is the most reckless disregard we have ever seen for safety,” Pajcic said in a news conference Thursday.
On March 3, 2020, a man identified as Ellis Eugene Trollinger, was driving an 80,000-pound log truck on State Road 200 in Nassau County. At that time, Trollinger was working for K&N Logging, a Columbia County-based logging truck company.
According to Pajcic, Trollinger had been driving since 4 a.m. and was going 67 mph in a 45 mph zone when he approached a congested area with construction workers, school buses and stopped traffic, as parents were picking up their children from school.
Trollinger failed to notice the stopped traffic in time and crashed into the rear end of the line of cars, Pajcic said.
“Trollinger broke the rules, the safety rules,” Pajcic said. “A truck driver, must always look where he is going and see what is there to be seen to control the speed of his truck.”
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The victims’ families filed a lawsuit against Trollinger and K&N Logging for breaking dozens of rules under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
According to Pajcic, it is unclear why Trollinger failed to see the stopped traffic.
Pajcic said he’s not sure if Trollinger was under the influence of a substance because the company failed and refused to get a post-crash drug test. It’s also unclear if he was fatigued for driving over the maximum time period because the company never had him fill out log books. It is also unclear if Trollinger was looking at his cell phone at the time of the crash because his records were destroyed, he said.
According to Pajcic, the company “blindly” hired Trollinger and put him on the roadway with no application, no background check, no driving history check, and no criminal history run. Moreover, the company did not check with Trollinger’s previous employers and never did a pre-employment test.
“Zero training, zero supervision, zero log books, zero hours of service, enforcement and zero training about how to strap down logs and then pays him cash under the table and pays him by the load and tells him to just drive,” Pajcic said.
During the trial, the jury learned about Trollinger’s “decorated” criminal history, which includes battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, running a red light and speeding in a commercial motor vehicle, DUI crash, and more, according to Pajcic.
Trollinger had also been pulled over for running a stop sign and arrested on a charge of felony possession of methamphetamine.
“The morning of this crash, when K&N Logging, the log truck industry, put him back on the road, he’s put out of service for driving a log truck with straps that are cut in half,” Pajcic said. “He calls the company and they said, ‘Get another load. Keep on driving.’”
Pajcic also said Trollinger had been fired by two of his four previous employers for causing crashes and speeding.
After learning about Trollinger’s criminal history and hearing from trucking experts, the jury reached a verdict awarding the victims $16.5 million in compensatory damages and $125 million in punitive damages.
Pajcic said he hopes this verdict sends a message to the log truck industry.
“The log truck industry thinks the rules do not apply to them,” Pajcic said. “This jury had an opportunity to shine a bright light on the danger and corruption of the log truck industry.”
Mike Miller, one of the victims injured in the crash, spoke at a news conference held Thursday in Jacksonville.
“I’m thankful to the jury for sending a loud, clear message to the log truck industry that we are taking back the streets. Follow the rules or you’ll be held accountable,” Miller said.
