St. Clair County pays to settle lawsuit alleging employee caused car crash
St. Clair County has agreed to pay $110,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a county employee ran a red light and caused a car accident, injuring another driver.
Rita Franklin, the injured driver, filed the lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court in November against the county and employee Ryan Nordike. She accused Nordike of negligence in the Dec. 16, 2024, crash in Cahokia Heights.
The County Board approved the settlement agreement at its meeting Tuesday night.
Nordike earned $55,938 in 2024 working in the county highway department, according to public salary data compiled by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The complaint states that Nordike was driving a county-owned pickup truck when he allegedly failed to stop at a red light at the intersection of North 88th Street and Lake Drive and collided with Franklin’s vehicle. He was driving “at an excessive speed under the circumstances,” the lawsuit alleges.
Neither the county nor Nordike filed a response to the allegations in court.
The crash caused Franklin serious injuries, including a fractured right knee that interferes with daily activities such as walking and sleeping, according to the complaint. It states that she continues to require medical treatment and has suffered lost wages.
Franklin’s attorney could not immediately be reached Wednesday for further comment.
