An Ohio man is being sued by the parents of a Pennsylvania 20-year-old for the alleged wrongful death of their son who was killed in Sept 2008 when his Jeep collided with a tractor-trailer on PA Route 115. The wrongful death suit, filed by Thomas Rogan and Denise Garofalo on Tuesday, claims that Richard Rody, of Ohio, acted negligently while driving a tractor-trailer that caused a crash that killed their son, Joseph Rogan.

According to the lawsuit, Rogan was traveling southbound on Route 115 at the time of the crash. Rody allegedly executed an illegal U-turn from the northbound lane to the southbound lane during a period of dangerous fog. The suit expresses that Rogan was unable to stop his Jeep before hitting the side of the tractor-trailer. Reports detail that the Jeep was dragged nearly 50 feet and the force of the crash caused the top portion of the Jeep to be ripped open, killing Rogan almost instantly.

The suit claims that Rody "failed to maintain proper and adequate control of his vehicle, pay proper attention and abide by the state Motor Vehicle Code." Additionally, Rody allegedly ignored clearly marked signs prohibiting travel on Route 115 if the vehicle weighs more than 21,000 pounds and failed to make proper precautions.

Rogan's family is seeking more than $100,000 for wrongful death, survival action and punitive damages in the suit and names Rody and Duie Pyle Inc., the company who own the tractor-trailer, as defendants in the case.

Related, two people were killed and two others injured on the same stretch of highway in the last year.

Source: The Times Leader "Wrongful death suit filed in Rt. 115 death" 07/28/2010