Family Faces Tragic Loss, Fights for the Truth

Few words can describe the grief of a family that has lost one of its own. Fewer still can fill the hole left by a loved one’s death.

When Gerald English died in a fiery crash in February 2022, his wife, children and grandchildren grappled with a loss they neither anticipated nor understood.

In a recent case-breakdown video, truck accident attorney David Craig and a grieving family remember Mr. English: his life, his death, and how Craig, Kelley & Faultless uncovered the truth behind this tragedy.

Looking Back: A Story We Won’t Forget

“Every now and then, you get a case that you just can’t forget,” attorney David Craig said. “Gerald English was one of those cases.”

Interstate 70 in western Vigo County, Indiana, was slick, still shrouded in darkness, in the early morning of February 24, 2022. Already that morning, the interstate had seen several wrecks, and traffic had packed the roadway.

By 7 a.m., Gerald English, 58, had been killed in a two-vehicle wreck.

What Happened?

His family received a phone call from Indiana State Police: There had been an accident. Mr. English was dead.

The police report alleged that Mr. English, who was driving a van, had plowed into the back end of a flatbed trailer at an “unsafe speed.” According to the report, it was his own recklessness that caused the fatal wreck.

“This is not right,” one of Mr. English’s daughters said at the time. “I don’t believe this.”

Mr. English had taught his children to drive. Amanda, one of his daughters, had never seen him exceed the speed limit — in fact, he often drove slower than necessary.

Despite this, the police report said that he was driving too fast for the conditions, that the force of the collision was so strong that his van caught fire and he died instantly. Mr. English’s wife, Cindy, and her daughters could not shake the feeling that this story was not only incomplete, but wrong.

Hiring a Wrongful Death Attorney

A family member encouraged Amanda to contact a lawyer. In March, a little less than a month after the wreck, Craig, Kelley & Faultless entered the picture.

Because the police report blamed Mr. English for his death, the attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless would need to investigate the crash to prove the report wrong. Managing partner David Craig immediately assembled a team of experts.

“I couldn’t promise the clients I could help them recover compensation,” David said, “but I did promise the clients I could help them figure out what happened.”

This wasn’t about money. This was about a family paralyzed with grief, desperate to know the truth.

The team sent preservation of evidence letters to the trucking company, instructing it not to alter or destroy any available evidence. David, along with his team of experts, inspected the semi and the client’s van. Mechanical accident reconstructionists downloaded the semi’s data. The law firm subpoenaed 911 calls, police records and body cam footage, and the truck driver’s history.

The Truth

The investigation revealed details that reshaped the story.

Back in February 2022, when police arrived at the scene and approached the flatbed and burning van, there was no traffic around the wreck. The report listed no witnesses — but, according to the original story, I-70 had been crowded with traffic all morning due to previous crashes.

“If you plow into the back of a flatbed trailer and there’s traffic all around you…there would have been witnesses,” David said. “Where were they?”

A note on the police report said the trucker — who survived the wreck without serious injury — had left his truck’s sleeper berth and was about to start driving when the wreck occurred. However, Craig, Kelley & Faultless believed that he fell back asleep and never returned to the driver’s seat.

When surrounding traffic cleared, the tractor-trailer was still sitting on the highway. Without its lights or flashers on, it was completely dark.

By the time Mr. English saw the trailer and swerved, it was too late.

Once the investigation was complete, David called the English family. He told them that they were right. Mr. English had done nothing wrong. His death was caused by a negligent and careless truck driver.

The attorneys settled the case for the English family and helped them financially, but what mattered most to them was that they had learned, at last, the truth.

Life After the Crash

Mr. English is immortalized in photographs.

He sprawls across his two daughters’ laps wearing a T-shirt that says, “Papa, the man, the myth, the legend.”

He relaxes in a recliner with three small, smiling grandchildren piled on his lap.

He gazes adoringly at a newborn who’s still small enough to fit in his two hands.

“It’s been two years, and it still seems like it’s not real to me,” Cindy, Mr. English’s wife said. “It feels like he’s going to walk right through that door.”

In 2024, Cindy and Gerald English’s oldest daughter, Jennifer, passed away at 34. She never recovered from her father’s death, Cindy said.

The family is still grieving the members it has lost. Knowing that Mr. English’s death could have been prevented is a horrible pain, but the family holds to the hope that their story can help prevent others from suffering similar experiences.

Cindy is grateful she hired Craig, Kelley & Faultless after her husband’s tragic wreck. Her daughter said the firm has been “nothing but a blessing” to the family. The team at Craig, Kelley & Faultless fought for the English family and for the man they lost.

In Memory of Gerald English

Gerald English was born in 1964 and lived in Covington, Georgia, his obituary reports. He played football all four years of high school and was a Georgia Bulldogs fan, following the sport for the rest of his life. He was a deer hunter and could build anything.

Cindy said she knew, even in high school, that Gerald was the man with whom she wanted to spend her life. He was a loving husband, a father, and a grandfather of nine. He did whatever he could to support his family.

He was “all around, just the best person I knew,” his daughter, Amanda, said.

Wrongful Death Truck Accident Attorneys

The team at Craig, Kelley & Faultless is fortunate to be a resource for families going through the most difficult periods of their lives.

No one deserves to be hurt, killed or lose a loved one because of another driver’s negligence. Unfortunately, stories like Mr. English’s are far too common. Each year, dozens of innocent people die in preventable wrecks.

It is our mission at Craig, Kelley & Faultless to help these victims recover. We will not be outworked. Our team is led by board-certified truck accident attorneys, and we are prepared to hold trucking and insurance companies accountable.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a wreck with a semi tractor-trailer or another commercial motor vehicle, contact us today at (800) 746-0226 or through our online form.

 

David W. Craig is a nationally recognized truck accident lawyer who sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. He was the recipient of the National Thurgood Marshall “Fighting for Justice” Award for his work helping victims of truck wrecks. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.