It’s been nearly three years since a concrete barrier fell off an overpass in Bonney Lake, killing a family of three as they drove underneath.
On Wednesday, a dad who lost three family members in that horrific crash testified hoping to change state law.
“I want parents to have the right to seek justice. We don’t have the right to seek closure,” Wayne Ellis said.
Wayne Ellis’ son Josh, daughter-in-law Vanessa, and grandson Hudson died when the barrier fell off the overpass in April of 2015.
“I got the news when I was sitting at my desk at work, and my daughter called and asked me ‘Dad, is that Josh’s truck?’ And I said ‘What are you talking about?’ So, I jumped online and made a phone call. ‘Yes. That is my son’s truck,” Wayne said. “At that moment, my life changed forever. I had a grandson, I had a daughter-in-law, and it has all been ripped away from me. Away from my family.”
After the deaths of three loved ones, Ellis was shocked to learn that parents of “adult” children have no legal rights to hold negligent wrongdoers accountable.
According to supporters of the bill, the current law discriminates against families of adult children who are unmarried, childless, or live outside of Washington. In the Ellis case, since the entire family was killed, the law applies.
If passed, a new bill will give equal legal rights to all parents so they can hold wrongdoers accountable for wrongful deaths.
“Until we have the ability to make individuals take accountability for what they’ve done, it’s just going to keep going on,” Ellis said. “I didn’t know about these laws until I was affected by this.”
Counties, cities, insurances companies, and doctors have testified against the bill the past two years and its failed because, in part, it will cost the state an additional $4 million per year.
The bill passed the Senate and is now under consideration by the House. The Ellis family joined others when they testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning.
