TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Fifteen years after a tanker-truck driver died in an explosion on the Hart Bridge Expressway, a state lawmaker has renewed an effort to get compensation for his family.
Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, filed a "claim" bill this week seeking to require the state to pay more than $1.1 million in the August 2000 death of Christian Darby Stephenson.
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The bill (SB 32), which will be considered during the 2016 legislative session, stems from a lawsuit filed against the Florida Department of Transportation.
Stephenson, 29, was driving a gasoline tanker on the Hart Bridge Expressway in Jacksonville when a Jeep hydroplaned after hitting a pool of water caused by a clogged drain. Stephenson sought to avoid the hydroplaning Jeep and two other vehicles by trying to turn onto an exit ramp. The tanker, however, jackknifed, overturned and exploded, killing Stephenson, the bill said.
Stephenson's widow filed a lawsuit, which led to a verdict against the state for $1,292,040. Under sovereign-immunity laws, the Department of Transportation paid $175,100 but needed legislative approval through a claim bill to pay the remaining $1,116,940.
Bills have been filed in past years to direct payment of the money but have not passed.