Northern Colorado jury awards $65M wrongful death verdict after bridge crash

A Northern Colorado jury has awarded a $65 million wrongful death verdict after a deadly crash on I-25 in 2022 killed a single mom whose son was riding in the vehicle with her. The crash happened when a semi hauling an excavator crashed into a bridge, causing a chain reaction.    

The crash happened about 6 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2022, at the Weld County Road 34 overpass, when Megan Arneson and her then 10-year-old son were traveling northbound on I-25 near Mead. Arneson had taken the day off work to surprise her son with a trip to Water World and they were returning home.

The semi, driven by Darnell Yingling of Import Towing and Recovery, based in Fort Collins, exceeded the height limits and crashed into the bridge, according to investigators. Concrete debris fell onto the roadway and a large piece collided with a vehicle traveling behind the semi.

Arneson, 32, was killed and her 10-year-old son suffered minor injuries when the concrete debris smashed through her windshield. 

The Colorado State Patrol investigated the incident and determined the excavator had been improperly loaded on the trailer, which caused the arm of the excavator to exceed the maximum clearance height for the bridge.

The lawsuit claimed that the actions of Yingling and Import Towing and Recovery "recklessly and negligently" failed to ensure the excavator was loaded, equipped and secured to prevent falling from the truck. The lawsuit also included claims that "Yingling's reckless conduct and decision-making caused Megan's death, and that Import Auto had failed to properly train Yingling and had failed to inspect the load prior to transport."

The Larimer County jury awarded the $65 million verdict against the defendants after a five-day trial. It is the largest Larimer County jury verdict and largest trucking crash jury verdict in Colorado, according to the plaintiffs' attorney.