Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 21, 1991 TAG: 9103210590
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The jury awarded his widow $410,000 in a civil suit.
Following the Oct. 17, 1989, accident, Henrico County police told Richmond newspapers and the Roanoke Times & World-News that Hudson had run a red light.
R.J. Smith, a crash investigator for the Henrico County Police Department, said Hudson drove into the path of a double-tandem dump truck. The truck was driven by Ivory Faison, a Richmond-area resident who was the defendant in the suit.
Attorneys hired by the Hudson family found at least four witnesses who disputed the police account of the accident. Two witnesses testified that it was Faison who ran the red light, said Dennis W. Dohnal, one of the attorneys who represented the Hudsons.
Two other witnesses testified that the traffic light in Hudson's lane was just turning yellow following the impact, indicating it had been green.
Police said the impact of the crash embedded the truck in Hudson's car and pushed it about 80 feet.
Dohnal said some witnesses came forward after reading accounts of the accident in the Richmond newspapers.
"Those people were not interviewed before the information on the accident was released by police," Dohnal said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. "It was very traumatic for the family. The more we found out, it became evident that there was much more information than the initial investigation revealed."
Dohnal said Henrico County police never have conceded that those initial conclusions were wrong. He declined comment on whether further legal action is anticipated.
"We're taking it one step at a time," he said.
Gail Hudson, Grant Hudson's widow, declined comment on the jury's verdict. She referred all questions to her attorney.
by CNB