The parents of deceased Wood River Valley resident Christopher Ehlers, who died in a car accident in March 2002, have dropped a lawsuit they had filed over the accident.
Ehlers, 41 at the time, was killed when the small pickup truck in which he was riding overturned and rolled on U.S. Highway 26 near Idaho Falls. He was traveling with his girlfriend, Bellevue resident Patricia Healey. Both worked at the Wood River Journal, Ehlers as a reporter and Healey as a copy editor.
An Idaho State Police investigation of the accident reported that Healey was driving the truck at the time of the accident. Ehlers' parents, Lake City, Fla. residents James and Sally Ehlers, filed a suit against Healey in October 2003.
However, Healey contended that Ehlers, not she, was driving the truck when the accident occurred. In response to the suit, Healey filed a claim against Ehlers' estate.
Both actions were dismissed on April 12 after Ehlers' parents stated just before a pre-trial conference that they were dropping the suit. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning that it cannot be refiled.
Since the case did not go to trial, the issue of who was driving was not resolved. The court file contains a statement by a witness to the accident that Healey was driving, and another statement by former Wood River Journal publisher Dan Gorham that even though Healey owned the 1998 Isuzu pickup, every time he saw the two in it together Ehlers was driving.
Ehlers, who had been living in Florida, moved to the Wood River Valley in 1997 when he was hired by the Journal.
The accident was viewed by many as a tragic loss to the community. A Mountain Express story at the time contained statements by friends and co-workers who emphasized Ehlers' amiable, sunny personality.
Gorham remembered him as "a very thoughtful and conscientious professional."
"He was a good reporter, he was a good human being," Gorham said. "We'll miss him very much."
Former Hailey mayor Brad Siemer called Ehlers "a fine and decent gentleman."
"As a reporter, I thought that he was always objective, fair and humane in his coverage," Siemer said. "I think the valley is diminished by his death, and I am very saddened by his passing."
