A lawsuit alleging negligence by two businesses in the deaths of Will and Clara Robinson has been filed in Bryan County District Court.
Durant Lady Lions basketball coach Will Robinson and his daughter Clara died on Christmas Eve 2024 when the family car hydroplaned in Sherman, Texas, and slid into a drainage ditch. Will died trying to save his daughter Clara, who was a student at George Washington Elementary School. Her body was never recovered.
The petition was filed by Ammons Law Firm and Branum Law Firm, attorneys for Kristen Robinson, who is Will’s widow and mother to Clara. Mrs. Robinson is representing the estates of Will and Clara, and their daughter Elizabeth Robinson, who was injured during the crash.
The petition states that Stuteville Chevrolet of Durant and Brakes Plus were negligent when servicing the family’s Chevrolet Traverse.
Court papers state that on June 27, 2024, Mrs. Robinson brought the Traverse to Stuteville Chevrolet for routine maintenance that included rotating the tires. The suit alleges that the tires with the most wear were put on the rear axle, which is contrary to industry standards of putting newer tires with deeper tread on the rear axle.
According to the petition, rear tires are what keeps a vehicle tracking straight.
“When rear tires lose grip on a wet road, the back end of the vehicle swings out - a condition called oversteer,” the petition states. “At highway speeds, oversteer is sudden and violent. The vehicle spins around its front axle, and a driver’s instinctive correction - braking, counter-steering - can make the spin worse. Experienced technicians understand that rear-axle traction loss at highway speed on a wet road is, in many cases, unrecoverable.”
The petition states that when front tires lose grip, understeer is far less dangerous, and the driver can regain control by easing off the accelerator.
“A technician who reverses this arrangement - who places the worn tires on the rear and the better tires on front - puts the vehicle in the most dangerous configuration for wetweather driving,” the petition states. “The tires least capable of maintaining grip are in the position where grip matters most. Any properly trained technician knows this.”
According to the petition, Stuteville Chevrolet, through its service manager Chris Robertson, admitted that it is shop policy to rotate tires from back to front and to place tires with deeper tread on the front axle which is contrary to the prevailing safety standard.
On Oct. 18, 2024, Mrs. Robinson brought the Traverse to Brakes Plus for a multi-point inspection and oil change. The inspection revealed that all the tires were “OK,” when in fact, they were not because of the critically low tread depth on the rear tires, according to the petition.
“The police investigation concluded that the lack of tread on the rear tires caused the vehicle to hydroplane and lose control,” the petition states.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the loss of companionship, grief and financial support for what are alleged to be wrongful deaths.
According to the petition, the Robinsons’ daughter Elizabeth Robinson was rendered unconscious in the crash, and she almost drowned. Damages for her physical and mental pain are sought.
According to the petition, if the tires with deeper tread had been on the rear axle, the accident would not have happened, or its severity would have been substantially reduced.
“Stuteville Chevrolet created the dangerous condition,” the petition states. “Brakes Plus ratified it. “The crash on December 24, 2024, was a foreseeable and avoidable consequence.”
The lawsuit seeks an amount exceeding $75,000 for actual damages and an amount more than $75,000 for punitive damages, interests, costs and attorney fees.
A call to a representative of Stuteville Chevrolet had not been returned at press time Tuesday. Brakes Plus does not have a location in Durant, and it was not revealed in the petition where the car was serviced.
A court date has not been set in the case.