The settlement for Tara Berendes was approved this week by U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins in Salt Lake City. Berendes' husband, who also was injured, had previously reached a settlement with the estate of Thad Goodman.
In addition, Tara and Josh Berendes - who had been married just 10 days when the crash occurred - will receive $1 million from the insurer of the Utah Department of Transportation and a contractor, Geneva Rock Products Inc., doing work at the accident site. UDOT and Geneva Rock, which deny any liability, reached a settlement with the couple in June.
Tara Eichinger and Josh Berendes were married in California and, after their honeymoon, were headed to their home in the Denver area on June 1, 2004.
According to court records, Goodman was northbound on I-15 about 75 mph when he wandered off the roadway near Point of the Mountain, overcorrected, lost control, crossed a 40-foot median and collided head-on with the Berendes vehicle.
High occupancy lanes were being built in the area - but because work was done at night and it was afternoon, no construction was going on at the time. The posted speed limit was 55 mph.
Goodman's car burst into flames, killing him. Tara Berendes, then 20, was in a coma for weeks and suffered severe internal injuries and facial burns.
The Berendes lawsuit centered on a hotly contested dispute over whether median barriers should have been set up to prevent head-on collisions. UDOT and Geneva Rock, which had placed barrels and construction warning signs in the area, claimed Goodman was entirely at fault.
pmanson@sltrib.com
Key points in case
* Tara and Josh Berendes had been married just 10 days when Utahn Thad Goodman hit the couple head-on in a fiery crash.
* Tara Berendes, then 20, was in a coma for weeks and suffered severe internal injuries and facial burns.
* U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins approved a $1.5 million settlement Goodman's estate for Tara Berendes.
* The couple also will receive $1 million from the insurer of the Utah Department of Transportation and Geneva Rock Products Inc.
