Inside the court fight that will decide how fast Louisville’s UPS crash cases move, and what the wait costs the people who lived it.
Every day, UPS planes take off and land at Louisville's airport. It’s business as usual for the parcel shipment company. But for the men and women working in Grade A Autoparts on November 4th last year- the sound doesn’t land particularly well.
"It's a form of disrespect when I'm at Grade A, and I see UPS planes fly over, taking off and coming down," Grade A Operations Manager Manuel Leos told me.
Less than a mile from the runway, there’s a patch of ground that used to be Grade A Auto Parts. The business was a 45-acre salvage yard- known for used auto parts and metal recycling. At least that’s what it was known for before fifteen people died there after a UPS plane heading to Honolulu crashed just seconds after take-off. The impact killed the three pilots, four employees, and eight customers.
Manuel Leos knew most of them personally. “In order for us to be better, we're gonna have to accept what happened and understand what happened, and the biggest thing is, somebody needs to be accountable for and be responsible for what happened," he said.
Who was responsible is what is now being decided… as more than two dozen lawsuits connected to the crash work their way through the court system.
On Monday, a judge is scheduled to start creating the rulebook for what that complicated litigation process will look like, because this isn’t just any other case. It's one of the greatest tragedies in Louisville’s history, and the people most impacted- the survivors and victims' families- they’re waiting to be made right.
For Grade A Autoparts Manager Manuel Leos, the wait is both painful and angering. This story dives into what the time has cost him... and a law expert weighs in on what to expect as the Louisville court system works to consolidate the cases covering one of the most tragic days in our city's history.
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Want to listen instead of read? This week's episode of One More Question with Shay McAlister goes inside the story. Access is at the bottom of this page!
