April 25, 2024
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$1.5 million settlement for family of 87-year-old Spring Grove man killed by garbage truck

Glenn Reed, 87, was killed in September 2021 after a garbage truck hit him while he was trying to cross the street

By James T. Norman
The Michael J. Sullivan Judicial Center in Woodstock houses McHenry County's courts.

The Michael J. Sullivan Judicial Center in Woodstock houses McHenry County's courts. (Matthew Apgar)

The family of an 87-year-old man killed by a garbage truck in 2021 while walking in Spring Grove reached a settlement with the company for $1.5 million after filing a wrongful death lawsuit last week, McHenry County court records show.

Glenn Reed, 87, was killed in September 2021 while trying to cross the road near the intersection of Michigan and Huron drives after a Flood Brothers Disposal garbage truck hit him, according to the complaint filed on Jan. 18. At the time of the crash, the truck was attempting to turn onto the street.

Reed was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital as a result of the crash, where he died from his injuries, the Spring Grove Police Department said in a news release at the time.

The lawsuit filed by Reed’s family alleges that the Flood Brothers driver, Ricardo Guerrero, failed to yield or decrease speed, to maintain control of the vehicle and equip adequate brakes, and to avoid hitting Reed.

Guerrero, 27, of Carpentersville, was cited by Spring Grove police for failing to exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian and failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision, according to court records. Guerrero pleaded guilty to failing to exercise due care and the other citation was dismissed.

He was sentenced in May to one year of court supervision, 100 hours of public service and $576.50 in fines and fees, according to the sentencing order.

Reed’s death caused a loss of “service, support, society, companionship, love, and affection” for the family, which also experienced “substantial grief, sorrow, and mental suffering,” according to the civil lawsuit.

The lawsuit was settled Wednesday, a week after it was originally filed. Of the $1.5 million settlement, a little more than $500,000 will go to attorneys’ Romanucci and Blandin LLC out of Chicago.

The remaining nearly $1 million will be split between Reed’s daughters, Lori Reed and Tammie Leedle, with each receiving a little less than $500,000, according to the settlement documents.

During his life, Reed was at one time the owner of Reed’s Construction and Pier service and a longtime member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, according to his obituary. At the time of his death, he was living in Spring Grove, but had previously lived in Lake Geneva.