Harrisburg student’s mother files wrongful death lawsuit against father’s employer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The mother of a Harrisburg student who was killed in a crash last month in Iowa has filed a lawsuit against the youth’s father’s employer.

Robert Orton, 14, was killed on June 3 when a 2015 Kenworth truck driven by Michael Orton, 38, of Palmyra, Missouri, crossed tracks in front of a train on Highway 21 in Poweshiek County, according to an Iowa State Patrol crash report. Michael Orton was injured in the crash.

The crash happened near Victor, Iowa, between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, previous reporting shows.

Emily Phillippe, the youth’s mother, filed a lawsuit on Monday in Boone County against Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners, Inc.

The petition claims Sydenstricker owned the truck and “owed Plaintiff and others a duty to exercise the highest degree of care in operation of the 2015 Kenworth.”

“Michael James Orton operated the 2015 Kenworth through the course and scope of his agency with Defendant Sydenstricker at the time of the collision, therefore, Defendant Sydenstricker is vicariously liable for Michael James Orton’s actions,” the lawsuit alleges.