By David Fonvielle, Partner

Daniel Ipince was a divorced father of two children: a son, now age 16, and a daughter, now age 14. The three enjoyed spending weekends together in the Keys, including the weekend prior to Mr. Ipince’s untimely death. That all ended when an innocent drive to work became a family’s worst nightmare – two children left to grow up without their father and best friend. Mr. Ipince, 42, was killed on October 16, 2002, in a head-on collision, when the driver of a truck owned by Tropics North, Inc., of Miami veered into his lane of traffic on U.S. 1 at mile marker 122.9, near Florida City.

Ipince lived in Key Largo and was on his way to work at approximately 7:20 a.m. on the day of the fatal crash. At the time of the accident, FHP Public Information Officer Lt. Julio Pajon reported that the victim’s 1999 Dodge pickup was hit head on by Sergio Menjivar, 23, of Princeton. Menjivar was driving a company vehicle, a 1995 Ford truck, in the southbound lane, when a vehicle in front of him began to make a left-hand turn. Menjivar, in an apparent move to avoid a rear-end collision, swerved to the left, into the northbound lane of oncoming traffic, killing both drivers. A 48-year-old male passenger riding with Ipince and Menjivar’s 25-year-old male passenger were seriously injured in the fatal crash that closed down U.S. 1 for five hours.

David Paul Horan (of the Key West law firm of Horan & Wallace) and I represented the Ipince Estate. In a mediation held this past June in Miami, a $2,500,000.00 settlement was awarded to the Estate of Daniel Ipince. We are pleased to have been able to settle this case and help the children reach some closure from the painful experience of losing a parent. We hope this recovery will provide them some peace of mind, as well as financial security, as they go through life without their father.