TAMPA -- A woman is suing FedEx for the alleged wrongful death of her husband.
Elizabeth Cotter, as personal representative of the Estate of David H. Cotter, deceased, filed a complaint on July 2 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against Peter N. Diaz, FedEx Freight, Inc., and Protective Insurance Company for wrongful death, vicarious liability and defamation.
According to the complaint, on Aug. 9, 2019, David Cotter was killed on Interstate 4 near Davenport while a pedestrian. Cotter allegedly was adjacent to his car on the right shoulder of Interstate 4, between mile markers 46 and 47, after his vehicle ran out of gas.
It is at that time when Diaz was driving a 2014 Kenworth 310 tractor truck, with two trailers, in the rightmost lane on Interstate 4 for FedEx and struck Cotter, the suit says. Cruz first gave the police a false report of the happenings of the accident, the suit says, and police later ruled the accident a suicide due to FedEx refusing to offer up the dashboard camera footage.
It was later found that Cotter was struck by the truck on the right shoulder of the interstate by the truck at no-fault, or suicide of Cotter, the suit claims.
Cotter is represented by Joseph F. Southron of Four Rivers Law Firm.
Circuit Court of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsborough County, Florida filing number 130024808