$2 Million Settlement Delivered By Fed Ex

Three years following her death, Cook County Circuit Court Judge William Maddux today approved a $2 million settlement with Federal Express as a result of the death of Marysia Harrer, who was 53 at the time of her death on October 29, 1999.

According to Francis Patrick Murphy, a partner at Corboy & Demetrio who represented Harrer’s estate, Marysia Harrer, a Schaumburg resident, was returning from lunch for training for a financial analyst position at LaSalle Bank located on Route 22 (Main Street), near the intersection of Old Rand Road, Lake Zurich, Illinois. Fed Ex’s driver, Michael Yablon, 32, 1453 Meadows Edge Lane, Carpentersville, Illinois, was exiting a parking lot on the south side of Route 22 and was going to make a right turn. The front of his truck was at or behind the sidewalk according to some witnesses as Harrer started to walk in front of the small delivery vehicle. As Yablon spotted an opening in the mid-day traffic, he pulled onto Route 22. Witnesses saw Harrer get hit by the driver’s side of the truck and knocked onto her back into the roadway. As Yablon pulled away, his left front tire ran over the length of her body, crushing her.

William Brownell, 47, 140 Oak Avenue, Wauconda, was going to lunch with a co-worker and witnessed the event. He rushed to Marysia’s aid and held her hand. He was prepared to tell a jury that she had a tire mark running from her skirt over her body and face. He tried to shield the noon-time sun from her as he held her hand. “ Brownell would have testified that he could “feel” the life run out of her as he tried to comfort her,” said Murphy.

Harrer, divorced, is survived by her three children: Robert Olson, 36, and John Olson, 33, 311 Newbury Drive, Island Lake, Illinois; and Christine Olson Hill, 35, 2101 Southwest 5th Street, Battle Ground, Washington.

“Time, time, time is a mantra of Fed Ex,” Murphy continued, “but sometimes rushing to complete a job hurts somebody. Here, it robbed this close family not only of their mother, but their closest friend and advisor.”

Defendants were represented by Robert on Ohlen and Keith Yamaguchi of Kaplan & von Ohlen.