Family of 2nd bicyclist in crash that killed 5 sue driver, his employer

The family of one of five bicyclists killed in a crash south of Las Vegas by an impaired truck driver in December 2020 has become the second to file a lawsuit against the driver, his employer and several leasing companies.

Four siblings of Michael Murray, 57, filed the lawsuit on Monday, nearly a month after the family of Tom Trauger, 57, filed a similar complaint against Jordan Barson, the truck driver sentenced in the crash, Barson’s employer, RoadRunner Transport AZ, and several corporations that partnered in leasing the truck to the company. Both suits also named David Merrill, an escort driver who joined the bicyclists on the 130-mile bike ride.

Attempts to reach the defendants on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

In June, Barson was sentenced to 16 to 40 years in prison for driving under the influence resulting in death. Barson had nine times the legal limit of methamphetamine in his system when he swerved onto the shoulder of U.S. Highway 95, pinning the bicyclists against the SUV that Merrill was driving in front of them.

Also killed in the crash were Erin Michelle Ray, 39, Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41, and Aksoy Ahmet, 48.

Merrill “breached his duty of care while operating the safety escort vehicle” by not following Murray, lawyers Brian Clark, Lukas McCourt and Clark McCourt wrote in the complaint filed Monday.

Murray’s siblings, Annette Brown, Judy Brown, David Murray and Douglas Murray, also allege that Barson’s employer “knew or should have known” that the 46-year-old “was inexperienced, incompetent and/or unfit to drive” the box truck.

Former Chief Deputy District Attorney Thomas Moskal, who prosecuted Barson, said body camera video from the Dec. 10, 2020, crash scene shows troopers missing signs that Barson was under the influence of the drug.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.