Trevor Stawizynski and his family members listed as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit and a related personal injury lawsuit have been removed from the suits following the acceptance of court settlement agreements earlier this week.

On Monday, Monroe County Circuit Court Resident Judge Chris Hitzemann granted motions for good faith filing and approval of the settlements with the families of two individuals involved in a Sept. 1, 2024, fatal DUI crash on Hanover Road.

The driver of the vehicle was Stawizynski, who was 16 years of age at the time of the crash.

The family of Columbia High School student Crawford Bryant, 15, who died as a result of the crash, agreed to a settlement of $250,000.

The family of another individual who sustained severe injuries during the crash also settled for $250,000.

Per court information, each settlement “extinguishes any and all liability” for the Stawizynskis, and all “present and future claims… are dismissed with prejudice.” 

The owners of Stop & Go Liquor at 8700 Collinsville Road, Collinsville, also named in the lawsuit for allegedly violating the Illinois Dram Shop Act, indicated Monday they have also reached a settlement agreement with the families.

Court information states the liquor store owners intend to file any motions “necessary to effectuate settlement,” although no time frame is listed.

A fourth defendant in the suit, the City of Waterloo, will be the only party remaining in the suit should that settlement be approved. 

The city objected to the Stawizynskis’ initial settlement filing, denying liability and asserting immunity in addition to arguing that a settlement with the Stawizynskis would place an unjust burden on the city if it was required to pay damages to the families.

The city suggested attorneys for the plaintiffs sought total damages of more than $1 million, leaving the city to pay an amount greatly exceeding the $250,000 granted Monday. 

The approved settlement amount reflects the maximum payout allowed per Stawizynski’s insurance policy which the city described as “wholly insufficient in light of the total value of plaintiffs’ anticipated damages,” it stated in its objection filed in late October.

The city also stated it would be a seven- or eight-figure judgment against the remaining defendants would be an “unconscionable amount given Trevor Stawizynski being the sole proximate cause of (the) plaintiffs’ injuries.”

The City of Waterloo was named in the suit as employer of a Waterloo Police Department officer who began following Stawizynski on the day of the crash after observing his vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed south of Hanover Road on Route 3. 

The next status hearing in this civil case is scheduled for April 13.

If the owners of Stop & Go Liquor were to file a notice of settlement, all remaining parties would have 28 days to file a response.

Stawizynski pled guilty last year to a criminal charge of DUI (accident resulting in death) for his role in the crash and was sentenced to nine years in prison plus two years of mandatory supervised release, with his sentence to be served at 85 percent.