The parents of a Willcox-area girl who suffered severe burns to her leg when it was caught against a tire of a moving trailer during a sports parade last year have sued the City of Willcox, its police department, a youth soccer league, and one of the girl’s soccer coaches.
The lawsuit filed last month in Cochise County Superior Court claims the injured girl was signed up with American Youth Soccer Organization – Region 1231 which serves the Willcox area. The group entered into an agreement with the City of Willcox in 2019 to use the Keiller Park soccer fields and organized a Sept. 14, 2019 parade as part of the season’s opening day ceremonies.
Jesse James Teeters, who served as a youth soccer coach for AYSO, allegedly connected the city’s dual-axle utility trailer to his Hummer to participate in the parade. Several of his team’s players, were placed on the trailer while it was at a staging area near Keiller Park.
But according to the lawsuit, the city’s trailer had open fenders, or exposed wheel wells, and was not designed to transport people. Another AYSO coach allegedly discussed the danger with Teeters and even offered to place hay bales on the trailer to minimize any danger.
Instead, Teeters purportedly instructed the players to simply remain seated during the parade. He then joined the parade along city streets without any adults on the trailer, although the lawsuit alleges several police officers provided traffic control along the route.
Public records show witnesses saw the girl seated near one of the wheel wheels with her arms around her legs during the parade. But as Teeters approached the end of the route, witnesses said the Hummer and trailer hit a bump at approximately 25 mph.
This caused the girl to lose her balance and her legs slipped from her grasp, allowing her right leg to be thrusted into the open wheel well. As girl and the other players screamed for help, the Hummer continued on for about one block until a parade onlooker was able to get Teeters’ attention.
“Defendants knew or should have known that the unreasonably dangerous condition could, and would, cause injury to its participants, including (the girl),” the lawsuit alleges.
The girl’s mother, who was alerted to the accident by another witness, took her daughter to the emergency department of Northern Cochise Community Hospital in Willcox. It would be the first of many painful medical appointments to deal with severe burns and other damage to the lower part of the girl’s leg.
“The friction from the tire created such force and such heat that it simultaneously ripped and burned layer after layer off of (the girl’s) leg,” the lawsuit alleges. “She was referred to Banner University Medical Center, where she was underwent debridement and split thickness skin grafting.”
The lawsuit isn’t the first effort by attorneys for the girl’s parents to resolve their claims against the City of Willcox.
In March, the city was served a $2.75 million notice of claim to settle the matter without litigation. The notice is required under Arizona law before a public entity can be sued.
“The facts of this case present a situation that was 100% avoidable if the Defendants had complied with their duties,” the claim stated. “As a result of their failures, a young girl has suffered a traumatic injury that will remain a part of her day-to-day reality for the rest of her life.”
The notice of claim also noted the traumatic injury “has become a life-altering event that is impacting every aspect of her life,” and court documents show the girl will likely need future surgeries as well as additional skin grafts.
Because the parties did not settle, the girl’s parents are demanding a jury trial for their lawsuit. If a jury sides with the girl’s family then the jurors will determine a financial judgment for the girl’s damages, including current and future medical expenses and other care.
The jury could also award punitive damages if they find one or more of the defendants willfully engaged in conduct that was wanton or grossly reckless.
The lawsuit also alleges that neither Teeters nor other AYSO personnel filed a police report. An investigation was not initiated, according to the complaint, until a few hours after the incident when local Justice of the Peace Trevor Ward mentioned to a police supervisor that he had witnessed part of the incident.
Teeters was later cited for violating Arizona Revised Statute 28-701A, which reads in part that “a person shall not drive a vehicle…at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, conditions and actual and potential hazards then existing.”
However, at some point the citation was dismissed at the request of a law enforcement official. The court record related to that citation has been purged.
Each defendant will have 20 days to file an answer with the court once formally served with the lawsuit. COVID-19 restrictions have caused several delays to court activities, so any trial would likely not occur until late 2021 or even early 2022.