According to settlement, families of four fatalities, unborn child, split $100K insurance policy; sheriff’s department, homeowners attorney file for dismissal

Gregory Orear

General Manager/Editor

ST. CHARLES – A St. Charles County judge recently approved a pair of wrongful death settlements stemming from a 2023 two-car accident that killed four people.

According to court records, Ashley Harris, 16, had an insurance policy with a $50,000 per person and $100,000 limit of liability per accident when she drove a Chevrolet Impala head-on into a Hyundai Elantra April 29, 2023.

The driver of the Elantra, Racheal “Grace” Neldon died at the scene of the accident on Highway 79, just south of the junction with Highway C, as did Harris and two passengers in her car. One passenger, Zachary Shields, 18 at the time, survived after being pulled out of the Impala, which quickly caught fire.

Neldon’s parents, Jennifer and Thomas, along with the parents of the three passengers, Brooke Schwarztrauber, Adrianna Siscel and Shields all filed a claim against the insurance policy.

As per terms of the settlement with Neldon’s parents, the $100,000 will be split amongst five parties: $24,750 each for Neldon, Schwarztrauber, Siscel and Shields and $1,000 for “baby Siscel-Causey.”

Burlison approved the settlement with the Neldons Monday, Sept. 8 and two weeks later on Sept. 22, approved the settlement with Schwarztrauber’s mom, Tamara Vierdag. Both suits named Harris’ estate and her father, Luther, who owned the Impala, as defendants.

While terms of the settlement reference a pending claim against Harris’ insurance policy from Siscel and Shields’ family, no lawsuits have been filed.

While the Neldon’s have settled their lawsuit against the driver of the vehicle who killed their daughter, the lawsuit against the Lincoln County Sheriff’s department and three homeowners remain, despite recent challenges.

Attorneys for the sheriff’s department and four deputies and the homeowners have all filed motions to dismiss the lawsuits for various reasons.

According to Neldon’s suit, three sheriff’s deputies responded to a party on Highway C April 29, 2023. Upon arrival, the deputies noted the presence of alcohol and marijuana and a crowd of 200-300 minors.

The deputies allegedly allowed the teenagers to drive home from the party, without ensuring their sobriety. Neldon’s lawsuit claims Harris had alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in her system at the time of the accident.

However, attorneys claim in the motion to dismiss that the sheriff’s department and its deputies are protected from a civil suit based on “sovereign immunity.”

“Missouri counties have sovereign immunity from common law tort claims …unless one of the few enumerated exceptions to immunity applies to waive such immunity from suit,” the motion states. “Plaintiffs petition does not allege an exception to defendant Lincoln County’s sovereign immunity. Regardless, none of the few recognized exceptions to sovereign immunity would apply in the case.”

As to the homeowners where the party occurred, Andrew and Amelia Titone and Brian Buie, attorneys argue Missouri law exonerates them from responsibility.

“Plaintiffs’ cause of action is based on the unrecognized and rejected theory of liability, that one has a duty to prevent minors from drinking on their property and then allowing the minors to drive away from the property,” Titone’s attorneys stated. “That is not the law in Missouri. Defendants Amelia and Andrew Titone owed no legal duty to Ms. Grace Neldon.”

According to Neldon’s lawsuit, Andrew’s son, Jake, hosted the party without them present. Buie, who was previously married to Amelia Titone, is named on the lawsuit as his name remains on the property’s deed, despite their divorce in 2019.

The motions to dismiss those lawsuits, filed in the Lincoln County Circuit Court before Judge James Beck, have not been scheduled for a hearing.