Tanker Truck Explosion Results in $3.2M Wrongful Death Settlement

The widow of a Texas man killed in a tanker truck explosion will receive $3.2 million as part of a wrongful death settlement. 

The agreement was reached in August between Live Lara Gutierrez and RTW Properties L.P. Gutierrez was the wife of Juan Perez, a truck driver who was killed on February 27, 2006 when the tanker truck he was driving exploded.

According to the complaint, the truck was being loaded with motor oil at a RTW Terminal at the Port of Brownsville. The lawsuit claimed that the tanker had smelled strongly of gasoline but was filled anyway. The lawsuit also alleged that the truck should have been grounded to prevent an electrical discharge from setting off any gasoline fumes in the area, but that was not done.

When the blast occurred, Perez was thrown from the truck and suffered fatal injuries. The lawsuit charged RTW and 14 other defendants with negligence. According to a report in The Brownsville Herald, trial was scheduled to begin December 6 when the out-of-court settlement was reached.

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