Family of Huntley man hit by car settles for $11.5M in McHenry County record: ‘Amazing young man,’ dad says

The family of a 20-year-old Huntley man who was fatally struck by a car while performing utility work last year on a Huntley road received an $11.5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver and Enterprise Rent-A-Car – a record for wrongful death settlements in McHenry County.

Joseph Zephries was fatally injured when he was struck while working on a utility crew in January last year on Main Street in Huntley. Police said Zephries “was on the south shoulder of the road completing utility line location services” for U.S. Infrastructure Company, or USIC, when he was hit by an Enterprise rental Kia Forte traveling east. He died from his injuries at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital.

[ Why the driver in the Joseph Zephries case only got a traffic ticket ]

The settlement was approved by Judge Joel Berg on Wednesday, according to court records. The settlement surpasses the previous record in McHenry County of $7.5 million, according to a Coplan + Crane law firm news release.

“He was just an amazing young man, and we miss him everyday and that just won’t stop,” father Stephen Zephries said.

The family will be walking away with more than $7.6 million after deducting and expenses to law firms are deducted.

The driver, Brandon Evans, a 28-year-old Chicago man, remained at the scene and cooperated with police. He was charged with a petty offense traffic violation of failing to reduce speed, according to court records. Evans was ordered to complete eight hours of traffic school and pay $326 in fines from the petty offense, according to court records.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Zephries,” Enterprise spokesperson Michael Wilmering said in an email to the Northwest Herald. Evans was employed by Enterprise at the time and was in a company car. “This was a heartbreaking and tragic accident, and we hope the family finds closure and peace during this difficult time.”

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is an international car rental agency that made $38 billion in revenue last year. It is the seventh largest private U.S. company by revenue, according to the Enterprise website.

According to the civil complaint, Evans was “fatigued and drowsy” causing him to crash.

Brad Balke, atorney for the Zephries family, said he hopes the settlement serves as a warning for drowsy drivers.

“We want this to be a warning to anyone who may feel drowsy while driving to get off the road and give yourself a break,” he said.

Zephries was a Huntley High School alum and spent part of his high school years at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock.

“This was a young man who was full of life – motivated, enthusiastic and driven by a clear vision of the future,” Balke said in the release. “Joey had big dreams and the kind of energy that lifted up everyone around him. His loss is immeasurable, but we hope this result honors the legacy he was already building.”

Zephries, who also went by Joe Piazza, started his own car show organization in 2020 called Spade Society, his friend Kyle Sexton said in a previous story to the Northwest Herald. Sexton raised almost $20,000 from a GoFundMe fundraiser to help support his family with funeral costs.

“The size of this settlement reflects the extraordinary young man Joey was and the depth of loss his family has endured,” an attorney for the Zephries family Ben Crane said in the release. “Enterprise stepped up and did the right thing by recognizing that a jury would have placed tremendous value on Joey’s life.”