Missouri residents who watch the Weather Channel may know how the two stars of the show “Storm Wranglers” died. On March 28, 2017, the duo was speeding down a highway in Texas in search of a tornado when they ran a stop sign and collided with a jeep. Both stars and the driver of the jeep, a 25-year-old storm spotter with the National Weather Service, died on impact. The mother of the 25-year-old is now suing the Weather Channel for $125 million.
The wrongful death lawsuit claims that the network was negligent in the way it dealt with the storm-chasing duo’s history of reckless driving. The pair was often documented speeding, ignoring traffic lights, driving on the wrong side of the street, traveling on private property and proceeding through hail storms, among other things.
Far from discouraging this behavior, the in-studio representatives who monitored the duo would sometimes instruct them to capture “particularly exciting footage” for viewers. Thus, the drivers’ reckless behavior was used for the sake of selling advertising and making a hit show.
The force of the March 28 crash was so great that the storm chasers’ vehicle was catapulted over a 5-foot-tall fence 150 feet away. The 25-year-old victim was driving away from the tornado at the time. The Weather Channel declines to comment on the case.
The cause of action in this case is clear. The network could have prevented the crash if it hired a responsible driver who followed traffic laws. Still, suing a television network is a serious undertaking. Families who have lost a loved one to another’s negligence may want a lawyer to evaluate their case, and they may consider hiring an attorney for assistance with each step of the filing process. That includes obtaining evidence, negotiating a settlement and litigating if one isn’t achieved.
Source: Fox News, “Weather Channel sued for $125M over death of man killed in ‘horrific’ Texas crash with storm chasers,” Katherine Lam, March 27, 2019