Claremore Lumber Company, Driver Sued By Estate Of Killed Driver

The estate of a Tulsa man who was killed in December after lumber fell off a truck and struck the man's windshield has filed a lawsuit against the truck driver and the lumber company he worked for.

The lawsuit was filed January 17, 2017, in Tulsa County District Court, and names the driver, Harold Russell Conn, and Pixley Lumber Company as the defendants, according to online court documents.

John Albert Fisher, 53, was killed almost immediately December 20, 2016, after a large lumber plank came off a flatbed truck and crashed through the windshield of Fisher's small pickup, police said. 

12/20/2016 Related Story: Tulsa Police Identify Man Killed When Lumber Flies Off Truck Bed

Police said the driver of the flatbed truck, Conn, was turning onto Sheridan from 13th Street when he lost his load of lumber.

The lawsuit states the defendants, "recklessly and with disregard to the rights of the motoring public," operated the truck in such a way that it caused the death of Fisher.  

Jack Fisher, an older brother of John Fisher, told News On 6 said multiple planks crashed through the windshield and the driver's side window. Jack Fisher said Conn made an illegal turn onto Sheridan, according to the police report.

The lawsuit claims "gross negligence" in Fisher's death and seeks punitive damages in excess of $10,000, according to the petition.

Conn wasn't charged with any wrongdoing, online court documents state.