A lawsuit resulting from the death of a cyclist in the 2019 Bikes, Blues & Bayous is proceeding with depositions and discovery, according to documents in the Leflore County Circuit Clerk’s Office.
The most recent filing was made in February. No trial date has been set.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in October 2020 by family members of James O’Daniel, an engineer and cyclist from Clinton who was killed on Aug. 3, 2019. O’Daniel was struck by a Southern Tire Mart truck driven by Edward Hibbler at the intersection of U.S. 82 and Mississippi 7 in Itta Bena.
The plaintiffs in the suit are O’Daniel’s parents, Michael O’Daniel and Fran Griffis, and his four sisters, Nancy Zimmer, Cathy O’Daniel, Sharon O’Daniel and Megan O’Daniel. All of the family members are from Vermont, with the exception of Zimmer, who is from Massachusetts.
The defendants are Southern Tire Mart LLC, the city of Greenwood, the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.
O’Daniel’s family has alleged Hibbler drove negligently, that the course was supposed to be protected from outside traffic and that there were failures to provide proper warnings and to control the intersection where O’Daniel was struck. The family is seeking damages including past medical bills, funeral and burial expenses and physical pain and suffering.
All five defendants have denied the allegations, and each has filed its own response.
The most recent response, an amendment filed by the Chamber of Commerce in October, asserts that “the sole proximate cause of Plaintiff’s damages, if any, (were) the negligent acts or omissions of Jim O’Daniel” and that O’Daniel “expressly assumed the risk of his actions.”
The chamber, which organizes the annual bike ride, claims that O’Daniel signed a release agreeing not to sue the chamber and has submitted that release as evidence, although the document was not included in the publicly available court files.
The chamber also alleges that O’Daniel hit the truck rather than the truck hitting O’Daniel.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com
