Canton woman sues teen driver, father

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A Canton woman who claims she was seriously injured when a teen driving on a farm permit rear-ended her pickup is suing the teen and the father who allowed the teen to drive the car.

Denise R. Taylor, Canton, was stopped Dec. 6, 2022, in her 2000 Ford Ranger waiting to turn from US-56 onto Orchard Dr. at Hillsboro when her pickup was struck from the rear by a 2010 Toyota Corolla driven by Nora M. Hein, then 15, rural Hillsboro.

Both vehicles were totaled.

Taylor was taken to Hillsboro Community Hospital after the wreck.

Officer Chris Mercer reported that inattentive driving caused the wreck, but he did not issue any citations.

Taylor filed a petition Oct. 11 in Marion County District Court seeking more than $75,000 from Hein and her father, Kerry Hein, who owned the pickup Hein was driving at the time.

Taylor claims Hein failed to stop, yield, keep a proper lookout, take evasive action, give warning, or pass in a bypass lane, and was traveling at an unsafe speed.

She seeks more than $75,000 for several injuries including a traumatic brain injury and bleeding in the space around the brain, disability, pain and suffering, loss of income, medical expenses past and future, and property damage.

She claims the injury may have aggravated a pre-existing condition.