Dec. 20--The Fayetteville couple who were injured when former Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell slammed into their vehicle will receive $700,000 in damages from the state.
Kelly and Christine Marler filed suit with the Illinois Court of Claims against the Illinois State Police in 2009 -- two years after the accident that left Collinsville sisters Kelli and Jessica Uhl dead. Christine Marler was pregnant at the time of the accident.
During the trial before Court of Claims Arbitrator Tom Ysursa last year, Mitchell testified that a white car cut him off in heavy day-after-Thanksgiving traffic on Interstate 64 east of O'Fallon. Mitchell was cruising at 126 mph, talking to his girlfriend on a cell phone and sending and receiving e-mails in the moments before he lost control and crashed, killing Kelli and Jessica Uhl of Collinsville, and injuring the Marlers.
The former trooper said he failed to follow procedures when he failed to radio the dispatcher after learning that an accident he was headed to on Illinois 4 was already being attended to by a fire department, ambulance personnel and county sheriff's deputies.
Mitchell received probation for reckless homicide and reckless driving charges.
Kimberly Schlau and Brian Uhl, Kelly and Jessica's parents, and the girls' surviving siblings received an award of $8 million earlier this year in their Court of Claims suit. They received the money in October, according to their lawyer's staff.
Christine Marler, a pregnant stay-at-home mom of two at the time of the crash, was immobilized, undergoing knee surgery without pain medication because of her pregnancy.
Kelly Marler, a pharmacist, sustained a broken wrist and took a 5-month leave to care for his wife and children.
Troy Walton, the Marlers' lawyer, said his clients were pleased with the outcome after months of waiting for a decision.
"They are very happy with the result," Walton said.
The Marlers, who incurred more than $40,000 in medical bills alone, received an offer from the Illinois Attorney General's Office before trial -- $200,000.
Walton called the initial offer "really pathetic."
"That offer forced their hand. We were left with no option other than to proceed to trial," Walton said.
Copyright 2011 - Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.
