April 17--A jury trial tied to lawsuits about the deaths of two volunteer firefighters in Rocky Mount in July 2010 had been scheduled to begin Monday in Franklin County Circuit Court but has been postponed until Sept. 23.
The decision to delay the trial was made Wednesday afternoon during a conference call among parties in the case.
On July 26, 2010, Posey Dillon, 59, chief of the Rocky Mount Volunteer Fire Department, and William Daniel "Danny" Altice, 67, died after the fire truck Dillon was driving collided with an SUV at an intersection, then veered out of control and rolled. Neither Dillon nor Altice was wearing a seat belt and both were ejected and died of their injuries.
The fire truck was eastbound on Virginia 40, headed to the report of a house fire in Union Hall. At the intersection with School Board Road, the fire truck collided with a 2007 Ford Escape driven by Teri Anne Valentine of Franklin County. An investigation by Virginia State Trooper R.D. Conley determined that Valentine had a green light and Dillon faced a red light. Conley concluded that Valentine had "lawfully entered the intersection" and that Dillon had "failed to proceed through the red light with due regard to safety."
Conley's report included interviews with several witnesses who reported the fire truck's siren and emergency lights were functioning when it entered the intersection.
Since then, lawsuits and countersuits have been filed in an effort to establish which driver was at fault that afternoon.
Last year, Christie Altice-Weaver, a daughter of Altice and executor of his estate, filed suit against Valentine and Ann Dillon, administrator of her late husband's estate, asserting that both Valentine and Posey Dillon had been negligent on the day the crash occurred. Later, Valentine sued Anne Dillon, as estate administrator, and she countersued.
The most recent trial plan, as outlined in an order last year by Circuit Judge William Alexander, had been to first try to determine liability in the case and then proceed to a separate trial to determine damages -- if any claims remained viable after the first trial.
Wednesday's conference call led to a new plan. As envisioned, one trial, set for September, will seek to determine both liability and potential damages, a decision that required allowing additional time for the parties to prepare for trial.
Copyright 2013 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
