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August 18, 2005Mother of 4 seeks damages from car crashTwo daughters were paralyzedByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The mother of four young girls injured in a car accident filed suit on their behalf against Dolores Derror, who faces multiple criminal charges in the crash. Courtney Elkins filed a civil suit in 13th Circuit Court Tuesday against Derror, 41, who was driving a sport utility vehicle and pulling a trailer toward Kalkaska on M-72 over snow-covered roads in January 2004. Police said Derror lost control of her vehicle and hit a car driven by Randy Elkins. Randy Elkins' girlfriend, Angela Grierson, 28, was killed in the collision, which also paralyzed his daughters, Brittany and Eden, then 10 and 11 years old. The "third-party" suit against Derror - meant to seek compensation for pain and suffering - contends that Brittany, Eden, Natosha and Tegan Elkins all suffered severe physical injuries and continued "mental anguish" from the crash. "This is against the party at fault for the accident for basically no-economic damages, i.e., pain and suffering," said attorney Lea Ann Sterling. "The previous suit was settled, a first-party case to seek medical expenses." Police said they found five marijuana cigarettes in Derror's possession and said she admitted to smoking one about four hours prior to the crash. But THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, was not found in blood samples taken from Derror after the crash, although there was the presence of a chemical created when the body metabolizes THC. The Grand Traverse prosecutor's office charged Derror with one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs causing death and three counts of causing serious injury. The new suit alleges Derror failed to take sufficient care while operating her vehicle, including driving at a safe rate of speed, keeping the vehicle under control, and didn't avoid driving "carelessly and heedlessly." The suit wants the court to award damages exceeding $25,000 to the four girls, including interest and costs and fees. See Related Stories: Court: Prosecutors must show pot was cause - July 22, 2005 Accident report: Woman had pot in system - April 8, 2004 Driver may face charges for pot - January 14, 2004 Police: Fatal crash driver smoked marijuana - January 13, 2004
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