Following a state Court of Appeals ruling, Horry County could have to pay $500,000 in damages to the family of a woman killed when she was pinned against her sport utility vehicle by a Solid Waste Authority garbage truck.
The appeals court turned down the authority's request for a new trial in the lawsuit filed by the daughter of the woman, who was killed in 2005, according to a ruling issued Wednesday.
Savannah K. Johnson, the daughter of Susan Johnson, sued the SWA for wrongful death in the crash that killed her mother, according to court records. During a trial in Circuit Court, Johnson was awarded $500,000 in damages, but SWA attorneys appealed the ruling.
On Wednesday, justices with the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision.
Attorneys in the case could not be reached Friday for comment.
Susan Johnson died about 4 a.m. Jan. 5, 2005, when she was struck by the garbage truck and pinned against her SUV, according to authorities. Johnson's SUV had run off the side of U.S. 17 North of North Myrtle Beach and had come to a stop in the "safe zone," or shoulder, of the road facing oncoming traffic.
SWA attorneys petitioned to have the verdict overturned because the circuit court judge suppressed evidence that Susan Johnson had been drinking and had a blood alcohol level of .14, according to the ruling. They also claimed the judge erred by telling jurors that the state's truck driving manual instructs drivers to keep safe clearance on the sides of the vehicle and to follow at safe distances.
In their decision, the Court of Appeals ruled there was not a link between Susan Johnson's blood alcohol level and the collision, according to the opinion.
Justices also said the judge's reference to the driving manual "conveyed the proper standard of care to be applied by the jury."
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