$1 million settlement reached in truck crash wrongful death lawsuit

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A $1 million settlement was reached in a wrongful death lawsuit over a crash that killed two women on Interstate 70 in August 2024.  

A Thursday court filing shows a settlement was tentatively reached on Aug. 19.

Cindy Helms, 54, of Rockwood, Tennessee, and Melvina Colin, 84, of Broomfield, Colorado, were killed in a crash involving Walter Montejo.

The lawsuit claimed Walter Montejo was driving aggressively, on too little rest and speeding when the crash happened on Aug. 5. 2024. The plaintiffs claimed Montejo’s employers, FDH Trucking and JL Transportation LLC, failed to perform a proper background check when hiring Montejo. The company also should have known Montejo had no valid driver's license.

Montejo was sentenced last year to four years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and a count of fourth-degree assault.