The wrongful death civil suit of Lukisha Thomas, who was struck by a car and killed in 2013 as she was walking down the sidewalk, has been settled.
Mediating attorney J. Martin Harvey confirmed last week the case has been settled, but details could not be released because the settlement document has been temporarily sealed.
"Judge (Doyet) Early has sealed this case," Harvey said. "But the case is over."
Thomas died March 30, 2013, after being struck by a Jeep while walking on the sidewalk of York Street with her boyfriend and their young son. The driver of the Jeep, Aiken attorney Tom Woodruff, was charged with careless driving by the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
Maria Saxon, Thomas' sister, filed a wrongful-death suit against Woodruff in September 2013. She was seeking compensation for medical expenses; pain and suffering for the period after Thomas' death; fright, grief, mental distress and mental anguish; funeral expenses; and exemplary damages.
Saxon's lawyer, Ladson Fisburne Howell Jr., refused to comment on settlement details, and Robin Braithwaite, Woodruff's attorney, did not respond to multiple calls.
The temporary seal prevents the public from seeing documentation of the settlement unless a court order is issued to unseal the documents. This seal also prevents party members of both sides from discussing settlement details, according to Harvey.
The seal "may never be lifted," Harvey said.
Aiken County Probate Judge Sue Roe in February appointed Harvey to serve as the special administrator of the estate to review the facts of the case and a proposed settlement and determine whether acceptance of the settlement is in the best interest of the beneficiaries.
Harvey requested the seal on the settlement agreement when he filed a final motion in mid-April.
"Among the evidence the Court may hear ... are facts derived from the Department of Social Services' file on the decedent (Thomas), which are confidential as a matter of law, testimony of a toxicologist and personal financial data of the Defendant (Woodruff)," he wrote in the motion for a seal request. "The parties will not be harmed by the sealing of the file temporarily, and in fact the minor beneficiaries may be protected by holding this matter as confidential until the Court has heard the Petition."
Will Whaley is the crime and courts reporter for the Aiken Standard. He graduated from the University of North Alabama.