Clarksville, TN – The families of five people who died in 2011 of carbon monoxide poisoning in a trailer at the Clarksville Speedway have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army, saying it failed to put batteries in the trailer’s carbon monoxide detector.
The five — with Bikers Who Care, a local charity that helps needy children — had rented the trailer from a U.S. Army RV rental business in September 16, 2011. The night of the 17th, they ran a generator outside the trailer to power the air conditioning.
They were found dead the next morning.
Those killed were identified as Timothy Bryan Stone, 39; James Franklin Wall II, 38; Jonathan Michael Over, 27; his wife Kathryn Elizabeth Over, 27; and Wall’s girlfriend, Allison Elizabeth Bagwell-Wyatt, 32. They were attending the 30th annual Leslie W. Watson Memorial Toy Run at the Clarksville Speedway. All five were from Clarksville and leave behind 13 children.
According to the lawsuit, the Army rental business, called Gear-to-Go, failed to put new batteries in the trailer’s carbon monoxide detector. The families are suing for negligence, asking for $124 million in damages.
The Army has not yet responded in court to the suit.