Samantha Mallette and her grandmother Katherine Wadman were killed at the scene after a pickup truck crashed into the Mazda Wadman was driving in Waterbury in 2017. Mallette's estate recently settled a lawsuit for $1 million. Samantha Mallette and her grandmother Katherine Wadman were killed at the scene after a pickup truck crashed into the Mazda Wadman was driving in Waterbury in 2017. Mallette's estate recently settled a lawsuit for $1 million. Courtesy photo

The attorney for the estate of a 25-year-old woman, killed instantly when a pickup truck hit the passenger side of a 2005 Mazda head-on, has settled the case for $1 million.

The impact of the crash, which occurred on Route 73 in Waterbury in June 2017, killed passenger Samantha Mallette and her grandmother Katherine Wadman, who was driving the car.

The biggest challenge plaintiff attorney Joseph Barnes said he faced in representing Mallette's estate was that Wadman might have played some role in the collision.

"Katherine Wadman was alleged to have made a left-hand turn against the red light," said Barnes, a member of The Reardon Law Firm in New London. "Our argument, if we went to trial, would have been to acknowledge that the grandmother may have played some role in causing the collision. But our position is that the overwhelming evidence was that the driver of the pickup truck owned the greater responsibility for the collision. By no means should the grandmother be held accountable for the entirety of the accident."

Barnes said he believes his strongest argument in settling with the defense for the $1 million policy was that Zachary Lessard, the driver of the pickup truck, was traveling 64 miles per hour in a 40 mile-per-hour zone. Lessard's speed, Barnes said, was backed up through police accident reconstruction. Lessard was driving a vehicle belonging to his employer, LT Landscaping Inc.

The Main Street America Group, the insurance carrier for Lessard's vehicle, had a $1 million policy limit, Barnes said. The money will be disbursed to the estate before the end of the year, Barnes said. The estate's executor is Kimberly Wadman, Mallette's mother.

A lawsuit was filed in June 2019, and the probate court signed off on the settlement Monday.

Barnes said Mallette's family decided against going after Lessard's assets.

Barnes said $1 million "was not sufficient to compensate this family for the loss of their daughter and sister. However, the family was not interested in pursuing Mr. Lessard and his personal assets, which they could have done. The purpose for filing the lawsuit was not one of vengeance, and my clients felt that going after Mr. Lessard personally was not something Samantha would have wanted."

There was an arrest warrant charging Lessard with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, but Barnes said prosecutors declined to pursue the case. Maureen Platt, state's attorney for Waterbury, could not be reached for comment.

Barnes said Mallette was the associate director of admissions at her alma mater, The Westover School in Middlebury.

Lessard's attorney, Peter Barrett of Windsor-based Markey Barrett, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

In court papers, the defense left it up to the plaintiff to prove its case, and denied the allegations. It also denied that Lessard's actions were the result of negligence and carelessness.

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