By Lisa Trigg
TERRE HAUTE — Testimony began Tuesday in a wrongful death suit filed over the November 2007 death of a Prairie Creek couple.
Max and Joyce Strain died when their Ford pickup truck collided with a log truck that overturned on Indiana 63 in a curve about 1,000 feet south of Harlan Drive dear the New Harmony Cemetery.
The Strains were southbound when the log truck driven by Richard H. Fulk of Worthington flipped in the curve and the load of logs were lost on the roadway. Several logs from the semi struck the Strains’ vehicle, killing them instantly.
The civil suit was filed in December against Blann and Son LLC, the trucking company contracted to haul the logs; McCammon Logging Inc., and truck driver Fulk.
Two criminal charges of reckless homicide, a class-C felony, were filed against Fulk in April 2008.
A seven-person jury was selected Tuesday morning in Vigo Superior Court Division 2, with Special Judge Sam A. Swaim of Parke County presiding.
Fulk gave a deposition about the accident in February 2008, a few months before the criminal charges against him were filed.
Attorneys for Blann and Son, McCammon Logging and Fulk’s criminal defense counsel all objected to the deposition being read to the jury because of the pending criminal charges.
Attorney Joseph Etling told the court that Fulk would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination because the criminal case has not been tried.
Attorney Jon Abernathy said that the Sullivan-based Blann and Son LLC also wanted to wait until after the criminal case was concluded so that Fulk would testify in the civil case. Abernathy requested a mistrial, which was denied by Judge Swaim because Fulk’s deposition was given freely prior to the filing of criminal charges, and because Fulk has not requested a speedy trial in the criminal case, which would have concluded the matter before the civil trial.
The civil trial will continue today in Division 2 Court, and is expected to wrap up on Friday.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
