A federal judge in Texas ordered the United States to pay nearly $8.6 million after a U.S. Postal Service driver ran through a rural intersection with a missing stop sign and struck a minivan, injuring three passengers. In a lengthy post–bench trial judgment, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix placed 100% of the fault on the USPS driver, finding the crash resulted from “distracted or mindless driving,” not the absent traffic control device or the passengers’ failure to wear seatbelts.
What Happened at the Intersection
The collision occurred on February 12, 2023, near San Angelo, Texas, at the intersection of Olsak Road and FM 765.
According to the court’s findings, USPS driver Jayleah Everitt was driving a postal van southbound on Olsak Road toward FM 765 on her first day as a USPS driver. The stop sign at the intersection had gone missing days earlier, the court record indicated.
Judge Hendrix found that Everitt wore headphones and was either not looking at the road or was otherwise completely distracted. The court determined she entered the intersection at 41 mph, without braking, and collided with a minivan driven by Alexandria Nieto, who was traveling westbound on FM 765 at about 75 mph.
The impact sent the minivan airborne. Nieto and her 14-year-old daughter, who were not wearing seatbelts, were ejected into a nearby field. A second child passenger, who was wearing a seatbelt, remained trapped inside the vehicle. The court found all three sustained severe injuries requiring hospitalization.
The Court’s Liability Findings: Missing Stop Sign Didn’t Shift Blame
While the court acknowledged the stop sign was missing, Judge Hendrix concluded the roadway provided multiple cues that should have alerted a reasonably attentive driver to the approaching highway intersection.
The judgment pointed to indicators including:
- A yellow warning sign
- Power lines paralleling the highway
- Visible traffic on FM 765
In the court’s view, those conditions “screamed danger ahead,” yet Everitt took no action to prevent or mitigate the collision. Judge Hendrix credited testimony that Everitt “saw nothing around her and did nothing as a result,” characterizing her account as a “shocking testament” to distracted or mindless driving.
Critically for plaintiffs, the court rejected the government’s attempt to spread fault to other actors. Judge Hendrix ruled the United States could not reduce its liability based on:
- Nieto’s failure to wear a seatbelt, or
- Alleged fault by Tom Green County and the Texas Department of Transportation for failing to replace the missing stop sign.
Damages: $8.58 Million Awarded to Three Injured Passengers
Judge Hendrix awarded $8.58 million total to three plaintiffs: Alexandria Nieto, her daughter, and the daughter’s friend.
Counsel for the passengers—attorneys with National Trial Law PLLC—described the injuries as life-altering, including traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, and permanent scarring.
The court’s judgment, however, stated that “no plaintiff continues to suffer from a traumatic brain injury.” It also recognized each person’s mental anguish and disfigurement.
The order additionally denied pain-and-suffering damages to Ryan Pearl, the father of one of the injured children.
What Plaintiff Attorneys Should Take From the Ruling
For plaintiff-side litigators, the decision underscores how a court may treat “missing device” defenses when the record supports an inattentive-driver theory.
Key takeaways from the court’s analysis include:
- Distraction evidence can dominate the causation narrative. The court framed the case around Everitt’s inattention and failure to perceive obvious roadway cues, rather than treating the missing stop sign as a superseding explanation.
- Failure-to-wear-seatbelt arguments may not reduce liability in this posture. Judge Hendrix expressly held the government could not avoid or reduce liability based on Nieto’s seatbelt nonuse.
- Fault allocation matters even in a bench trial setting. The court’s ruling did not apportion any responsibility to the county, TxDOT, or the minivan occupants, despite the government’s efforts to do so.
Case Information
The case is Pearl et al. v. United States of America, No. 6:24-cv-00018-H, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
