A Virginia wrongful death trial scheduled to begin on June 21 could be called off if the son who brought the case accepts a deal proposed by State Farm Insurance Company. The insurance company is willing to settle for $100,000 regarding the case, in which an 81-year-old-woman was struck and killed by a pickup truck driver in Fishersville, Virginia.
The VA truck accident occurred in October 2010 when 20-year-old Stephen Joel Vance of Waynesboro was driving his pickup truck on Highway 250. According to Vance, a tire on his truck popped, he lost control of his vehicle, and crashed into a woman’s yard, hitting her as she mowed her lawn. The 81-year-old Lucille Simmons Wheeler, who had worked at Wilson Memorial High School in the cafeteria for 45 years, died of blunt force trauma.
After the fatal crash, prosecutors investigated whether or not Vance could have been under the influence of an illegal, synthetic drug known as “spice” which is similar to marijuana. At the same time, investigators also examined Vance’s tire to see if his account of the crash held water. Currently authorities are waiting for lab results from both the drug test and the forensics team. Vance has not been charged with a crime.