Austin American-Statesman: Austin, county cleared in 1995 accident

Austin, county cleared in 1995 accident

Austin American-Statesman/1999-10-20

A Travis County jury has found the City of Austin and Travis County were not negligent in a 1995 traffic accident in which six people were killed and seven were injured. The lawsuit, which was resolved with the jury's verdict Friday, stems from an accident in which Jesse Wickenheiser drove a van on McKinney Falls Parkway and ran a stop sign at Burleson Road, striking a pickup driven by John Harris of Cedar Creek. Harris' wife, Rhonda, 45, and five teen-age girls who were members of an evangelistic group called the Family were killed in the collision, Assistant City Attorney Fred Hawkins said Tuesday. Neither Wickenheiser nor his attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday. Plaintiffs, including Wickenheiser, asked for $6.5 million in damages, alleging that a "stop ahead" sign was obscured by vegetation and a stop sign was too faded. The jury found that the signs were visible and that Wickenheiser and the driver of the van were negligent.