Metro-east teen seeks to settle fatal DUI claims as city denies liability
The teenage driver involved in a DUI crash that killed one boy and seriously injured another in 2024 has offered their families $250,000 to settle the negligence claims against him, according to Monroe County court records.
Meanwhile, the city of Waterloo is denying liability on behalf of a police officer the families have accused of sharing responsibility for the boys’ injuries in civil lawsuits.
The crash killed Crawford Bryant, a 15-year-old Columbia High School soccer player, and caused brain damage to another passenger. It occurred about 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, on Hanover Road between Waterloo and Columbia.
Trevor Stawizynski, then 16, was allegedly driving the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and speeding, according to the lawsuits and criminal charges. He and his grandparents, Mamie and Michael Stawizynski, who raised him and own the vehicle involved in the crash, proposed the settlements in Nov. 3 court filings.
Bryant’s mother, Tara Luhr, has filed a motion requesting the court approve the settlement in her wrongful death lawsuit.
A second lawsuit identifies the injured passenger and his parents by the pseudonyms “Jack Doe” and “Jane and John Doe” to protect the boy’s privacy as he is a minor. As of Tuesday, they had not filed any motions regarding the proposed settlement.
In their lawsuits, the crash victims’ families accuse Waterloo police officer Justin Braun of failing to pull the speeding car over just before the wreck and failing to “timely and adequately” render aid at the crash scene.
The city of Waterloo has denied all allegations and argued it is not liable for the crash in its responses to the lawsuits, which it filed Oct. 29.
Attorneys for the families did not immediately respond to the Belleville News-Democrat’s requests for further comment.
What public records reveal about the crash
In response to public records requests, the city of Waterloo provided the BND with police reports and dashcam and bodycam video footage recorded by Braun on the day of the crash. The documents and videos were redacted to avoid identifying the passengers in Stawizynski’s car.
Braun wrote in his report that, just before the crash, his dash-mounted radar recorded Stawizynski driving 91 mph on Illinois 3, where the speed limit is 45. Braun was traveling in the opposite direction and turned around to catch up with Stawizynski’s vehicle.
The bodycam video shows Braun briefly reached speeds as high as 94 mph. He stated in his report that he activated his emergency lights while on Illinois 3.
The teen continued driving and turned onto Hanover Road. Braun slowed to yield to oncoming traffic as he turned to follow the car, according to both his report and dashcam footage.
Stawizynski lost control of the car in the 4100 block of Hanover Road and sideswiped a tree, the lawsuits state.
Braun wrote in his report that he did not know if Stawizynski saw him attempting to initiate a stop. “I thought the speeding vehicle was going to stop once he was on Hanover if he saw me behind him,” Braun wrote.
Parents scrutinize Waterloo officers’ actions
The families alleged Braun never activated his patrol car’s sirens. They also accused him of failing to communicate with dispatch or his supervisors, in violation of the department’s pursuit policy. The city disputes these claims.
Video footage provided by the city contains no sound. The screen is blacked out for much of the video from Braun’s response to the crash, where the families allege he failed to provide necessary aid to Bryant and the other passenger.
St. Clair, Gilbreth and Steppig, the law firm representing Waterloo, declined the News-Democrat’s request to view the unredacted video, which had previously been shown during Stawizynski’s sentencing hearing.
The Republic-Times in Waterloo, which watched the footage when it was presented in court, described it as follows: “Braun briefly attempts to rouse Bryant and (the unresponsive passenger) before another officer arrives to perform CPR on Bryant, and EMS arrive after for further care and response to the scene.”
Timestamps on the redacted footage show Braun arrived at 2:59 p.m. Another police officer arrived five minutes later, at 3:04 p.m. Ambulances responded at 3:08 p.m., nine minutes after Braun arrived.
The crash investigation was handled by Illinois State Police. To date, the state agency has not responded to the News-Democrat’s request for a copy of its report.
Stawizynski was convicted earlier this year of aggravated driving under the influence causing death, a Class 2 felony. He is now 17 years old. He was sentenced in September to nine years in prison.
The crash victims’ families also included Stop and Go Liquor in Collinsville in their lawsuits. They accused the store of providing the alcohol to Stawizynski, which the business and property owners have denied in responses to the lawsuits.
A status hearing for both cases is scheduled for Jan. 5.
