$30M Settlement Reached in Wrongful Death Suit
The family of Jeunelle Robinson, a South Carolina teacher tragically killed by a falling utility pole, will receive a $30 million settlement. The agreement, finalized on Thursday, involves electric company Dominion Energy and communications company Comporium, who were both implicated in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Robinson’s family. The lawsuit was filed in Aiken County, and the settlement was reached without the need for a court trial.
Tragic Accident in Wagener, South Carolina
The incident occurred last August in downtown Wagener, a small town about 35 miles southwest of Columbia. Robinson, a 31-year-old social studies teacher at Wagener-Salley High School, was on her lunch break when a truck legally driving down the street snagged a drooping utility line. The line, which was no longer in use, pulled a series of rotting utility poles, causing one to snap and launch into the air. The pole struck Robinson in the head, flipping her violently before she fell to the ground. Surveillance footage from a nearby store captured the horrific moment. Robinson was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after the accident.
Companies Involved in Settlement
Dominion Energy, which had installed a light on the pole, and Comporium, the owner of the unused line, both agreed to the settlement. The specific amounts each company will pay toward the $30 million total were not disclosed. The poles involved in the accident were reportedly over 70 years old, with some records indicating they had not been inspected or maintained in over six decades. Following the accident, the 69-year-old mayor of Wagener revealed that he recognized a bottlecap he had nailed to one of the poles as a boy, further underscoring the age and neglect of the infrastructure.
Calls for Improved Infrastructure Safety
In a statement, the family’s lawyer, Justin Bamberg, commended Dominion and Comporium for resolving the case without forcing the family to relive the tragedy in court. Bamberg also expressed hope that the companies would take this incident as a wake-up call to prioritize the inspection and replacement of aging utility infrastructure, especially in small towns like Wagener.
Dominion Energy spokeswoman Rhonda Maree O’Banion expressed the company’s deepest sympathies to Robinson’s family and said they were pleased to have resolved the case. Comporium’s Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Dosch, echoed these sentiments, offering prayers for the family and acknowledging the lives Robinson had touched.
