By Lori Glenn



MOULTRIE — Not more than a month after the dealership changed hands, the former Ken Isaacs Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc. reached a settlement agreement with a car accident victim who suffered permanent brain damage after the dealership allowed a feeble 86-year-old man to test drive a car alone and he crashed into her.

Plaintiffs Vicki P. Hiers and Larry E. Hiers, of Norman Park, filed a tort negligence case against Ken Isaacs Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc. based in Moultrie. The corporation was dismissed with prejudice Monday in Colquitt County Superior Court, and plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Strickland of Moultrie confirmed a settlement had been reached but could not disclose the amount as per the agreement.

The corporation, represented by Hawkins and Parnell, LLP of Atlanta, had denied all responsibility when the plaintiffs lodged their complaint with the courts.

The Hiers said in 2001, Ken Isaacs salespersons allowed William Cecil Weeks to take a vehicle from the lot. He ran a red light and slammed the car into Vicki Hiers’ pickup. She was ejected from the vehicle and was sent skidding 30 feet on the back of her head across the bypass.

Strickland claimed the corporation had no safety policies, no safety procedures, no safety training and has never done any safety reviews.

Weeks had a history of cataracts in both eyes, a history of hearing loss in both ears, a history of vertigo and had difficulty using his lower right leg, the attorney said.

Three months after the accident, the dealership again allowed Weeks to test drive another vehicle alone, Strickland said, without checking his license.

Weeks, who now lives in a nursing home, settled with the Hiers in March, tendering his insurance policy limits, the attorney said.