On a miserable day two years ago, two celebrity storm chasers crashed into a 25-year-old man’s Jeep. All three men were killed instantly....
It was March 28, 2017, and Kelley Williamson and Randall Yarnall, stars of the Weather Channel’s “Storm Wranglers,” were chasing a tornado near Spur, Texas. The duo, in a Chevy Suburban, were going 70 mph when they ran a stop sign and hit Corbin Lee Jaeger’s Jeep. Jaeger, who was employed as a storm spotter at the National Weather Service, was driving away from the storm, according to the BBC.
Jaeger’s mother, Karen Di Piazza, has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Weather Channel, alleging that her son had the right of way when the storm chasers hit him. She is seeking $125 million in damages.
Williamson and Yarnall were live-streaming their pursuit of a storm from the Weather Channel’s Facebook page, according to Fox News.
“The storm isn’t very far in front of us right now,” Williamson said on the stream. “Actually, that’s what the dark is you’re seeing right there.”
In her lawsuit against the Weather Channel, Di Piazza claims Willamson and Yarnell had a “well-documented history of dangerous behavior behind the wheel” and that the channel encouraged this behavior in order to get “particularly exciting footage.” The two men had previously run stop signs and traffic lights and driven on the wrong side of the road while making “dangerous, illegal passes of other cars,” the lawsuit said.
In fact, according to the lawsuit, the failure to stop that resulted in their deaths was their “fourth such traffic violation that day."
"TWC had actual knowledge of the poor driving habits of these individuals, to the extent that it was apparent it was more likely Williamson and Yarnell would run a stop sign than stop at a stop sign. And Yarnell ran a stop sign killing Corbin Lee Jaeger," the lawsuit also said.
When the crash occurred and the three men died, the Weather Channel released a statement mourning the loss of its stars.
"Kelley and Randy were beloved members of the weather community," the statement said. "We are saddened by this loss and our deepest sympathies go out to the families and loved ones of all involved."
Robert A. Ball, the attorney for Jaeger’s mother, described the crash to USA Today in a statement.
“The Chevrolet Suburban driven by Yarnall was live streaming for the Weather Channel when it ran into the path of the Jeep Patriot Jaeger was driving," the statement said. "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 further explained that Jaeger was a “certified storm spotter for the National Weather Service, who had planned to return to college in Arizona to pursue a career as a meteorologist.”
In response to the lawsuit, a Weather Channel statement said it “cannot comment on pending litigation.”
“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," the statement said.
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