LUBBOCK, Texas — Two years after a horrific car crash killed a storm spotter and two storm chasers in northwest Texas, the mother of one of the men killed is suing The Weather Channel for $125 million.
On March 28, 2017, a vehicle with two storm chasers from The Weather Channel, Kelley Williamson and Randall Yarnall, drove past a stop sign at an estimated speed of 70 mph and crashed into a car driven by Corbin Jaeger, of Phoenix, a 25-year-old storm spotter for the National Weather Service. All three men died instantly.
Jaeger's mother Karen Di Piazza, of Glendale, is seeking damages, saying the two Weather Channel personalities also killed in the crash were at fault as well as the company itself, which allegedly ignored the dangerous driving habits of Williamson and Yarnall.
The crash happened in Spur, Texas, a town about 55 miles southeast of Lubbock.
In the lawsuit filed in Lubbock, Di Piazza alleges Williamson and Yarnall had a history of reckless driving, including running stop signs, driving on the wrong side of the road and violating other traffic laws, in order to get footage for their show, "Storm Wranglers."
The lawsuit compiles examples of what it claims is reckless and dangerous driving by the two personalities in clips of their show.
According to Di Piazza's attorney, Robert A. Ball, the Chevrolet Suburban driven by The Weather Channel personalities was livestreaming when it drove into the path of the Jeep Patriot driven by Jaeger.
“The force of the collision caused the equipment-laden Suburban to catapult over a five-foot-tall fence 150 feet from the point of impact," Ball said in a statement. "Jaeger, a storm chasing enthusiast who had planned to attend college in Arizona to pursue a career as a meteorologist, was driving westward away from that tornado when he was struck and killed.”
The lawsuit alleges The Weather Channel was previously made aware of multiple traffic violations by Yarnall and Williamson by other storm chasers, who tried to warn producers and executives at TWC about Yarnall and Williamson.
The suit cites text messages from another professional storm chaser to a Weather Channel producer in December 2016, one of which said, "As far as Storm Wranglers: I understand the need and fact for 'dumbing down' for the general public. But I'm gonna be honest here (and I hope you take no offense at what I'm going to say please... the fact of [the] matter is that you have 2 very inexperienced, new and uneducated 'chasers' ... talk about liability. See where I am going with this?...I'm not gonna badmouth Kelly but I'm not gonna lie either."
Three weeks before the accident, the same storm chaser texted the producer again, which said in part, "We are just hoping he doesn't get hurt or hurt anyone else. There is so much more I'd like to say but I don't want to get involved."
The day after the accident, the chaser texted the producer in part, "But everything I told him about driving safer and not being so distracted...and then telling you that I was worried that he was gonna kill someone or himself...those are the exact messages I shared with you. And then it happens."
The lawsuit also focuses on the allegation that Yarnall and Williamson were not professional meteorologists trained in tracking tornadoes, but were chicken and cattle farmers from Missouri not trained in meteorology.
The Weather Channel television network sent the following statement to 12 News following the filing of the lawsuit against the company.
"We are saddened by the loss of Corbin Jaeger, Kelley Williamson, and Randy Yarnall. They were beloved members of the weather community and our deepest sympathies go out to the families and loved ones of all involved. We cannot comment on pending litigation."