Lawyers say Missouri man's death resulted from car crash

Tiffany Lett drove her car six miles the wrong way on U.S. Highway 71 before colliding head-on with another vehicle.

The April 2005 accident near Missouri Highway 58 instantly killed Lett, who had spent the previous four hours drinking at two Kansas City, South bars.

Tony Bryant, the other driver, sustained serious injuries and died more than a year later. And his lawyers say his death was a result of the crash.

In a nonjury trial that began Tuesday before Jackson County Circuit Judge Sandra Midkiff, Bryant's wife, children and mother seek to recover actual and punitive damages for his wrongful death.

Bryant's family also sued Richey's Club and Fin's Peppermill Lounge South, the two bars where Lett drank, and the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. Those three defendants have since been dismissed or settled with the plaintiffs for unknown amounts, leaving Lett's estate as the only defendant.

During the presentation of evidence Tuesday, Ryan Combs, who drank with Lett before the crash, testified they began drinking at Richey's about 10 p.m. April 21, 2005.

They then drove to the nearby Peppermill Lounge about 1:30 a.m. to continue drinking.

About an hour later Combs and Lett left and went their separate ways, he testified.

The 22-year-old Lett, who was driving a 1994 Ford Explorer, drove up the exit ramp from Hickman Mills Drive and headed south in the northbound lanes of Highway 71 "because she was drunk and got confused," the plaintiffs' petition claims.

The Bryant family attorneys, John Turner, of Turner & Sweeny, and Dirk Vandever, of The Popham Law Firm, presented evidence that Lett's blood alcohol content was .302 - nearly four times the legal limit.

Combs said Lett was drinking vodka and Roaring Lion, a Red Bull knock off, that night.

Plaintiffs' expert witness Dr. Curtis Klaassen, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, said judging by Lett's size, approximately 5 feet 7 inches and 150 pounds, she would have consumed about 14 drinks, about 24 ounces of vodka.

The defense, represented by Jim Marrow and Todd Moulder, of Morrow, Willnauer & Klosterman, admitted during the trial that Lett was legally intoxicated and has admitted in court records that she caused the crash.

Morrow raised questions about her blood alcohol content with Klaassen and debated how the blood was drawn to take the measurement.

Additionally, during cross-examination, Combs said he never saw Lett passing out and did not notice her slurring her speech or stumbling at the bar.

But Combs agreed with Turner's questioning during recross that Lett should not have driven.

Midkiff also heard testimony from Belton police officer John Baker, who responded to the scene about 20 to 30 minutes after the accident.

He said Lett's vehicle was "almost unrecognizable." He added that the crash occurred at a hillcrest, and there would have been only a half-second to react before the collision.

Evidence in the trial is expected to conclude today.