The family of a woman killed in a multi-vehicle pileup on a Fort Worth highway during the 2021 Texas winter storm settled their lawsuit against the tollway operator for an undisclosed amount, their attorney announced Wednesday.
Tiffany Gerred was on her way to work Feb. 11, 2021, when a total of 133 cars slid and crashed into one another in the TEXpress lanes of Interstate 35 West. Her car was crushed by a FedEx 18-wheeler as she tried to get away from the wreck.
Gerred, 34, was one of six people killed in the crash. Her parents and her daughter’s father sued the tollway operator and FedEx, among other defendants.
The family initially accused the tollway operator of neglecting to properly treat icy road conditions in the toll lanes, close the toll lanes to 18-wheelers and warn drivers of the hazardous conditions ahead. The National Transportation Safety Board's final 2023 report on the incident draws some of the same conclusions.
NTSB found that while North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners pretreated the roads in the days leading up to the storm, they didn't properly deice the part of the road where the crash took place. The report also stated speeding drivers were to blame for the resulting crash.
Gerred’s family came to a confidential settlement Monday with Cintra US, the NTE tollway’s parent company, their attorney Jason Stephens said. The agreement removes the tollway operator from the suit and clears the way for a July 21 trial against FedEx and the remaining defendants.
The lawsuit alleges FedEx truck driver Jean-Marie Saint-Lot failed to drive cautiously and control his speed given the icy conditions that day, leading to Gerred’s death.
“Tiffany would be here today — she would be here with her family, with her daughter, with her parents and her four brothers — but for the fact of that 18-wheeler that rear-ended her as she was literally attempting to open the door of her vehicle to get out to escape," Stephens, the attorney, told KERA.
The suit further alleges Saint-Lot had been in another 18-wheeler crash two months prior, and he was working for a different carrier that falsified his driving records and received a warning from federal officials about “unsafe driving” in the months before the pileup.
The families of other victims are also plaintiffs in ongoing litigation over the crash.
Robert Hinkle, a spokesperson for NTE Mobility Partners, confirmed the company has come to an agreement with Gerred's family but said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
"We continue to keep the Gerred family in our thoughts and prayers," Hinkle said in an email.
FedEx spokesperson Heather Wilson said the company prioritizes safety and cooperated with the NTSB in its investigation into the causes of the accident, "none of which include any action or inaction by FedEx Ground as a cause of this accident."
KERA News reached out to Ferrovial, Cintra's parent company, for comment and will update this story with any response.
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