Settlement reached for Chicago, Denver men in 2019 Boeing 737 MAX8 crash in Ethiopia, ahead of trial
A settlement has been reached for two American victims in the Boeing 737 MAX8 plane crash in Ethiopia in 2019, just ahead of a trial scheduled to begin on Monday in Chicago.
The law firms Romanucci and Blandin – representing the families of Antoine Lewis, 39, of Chicago – and Mark Lindquist Law – representing Darcy Belanger, 46, of Denver, Colorado – announced the settlement was reached on Sunday night.
Lewis and Belanger were among the 157 people who died in the crash minutes after it took off from the Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia. They were two of eight Americans onboard.
The firm for Lewis said he was a U.S. Army Captain from suburban Chicago and was on military leave, taking a trip to Africa for opportunities to start a logistics business addressing the systemic supply chain failures.
Lewis was also approaching 20 years in the military, which would have made him eligible for his full military pension. He was eyeing a post-military life with his wife, fellow Army soldier Yalena Lopez-Lewis, and their two sons. Next month would have been his 46th birthday.
Lewis's wife said she is still processing everything following the settlement, saying whether trial or settlement, there is no dollar value on Antoine's life.
"Holding Boeing accountable and ensuring the public was aware of the mishaps and the disregard for the lives lost, that's what I think I was hoping to achieve," she said.
She says the world was robbed of the opportunity to see who that person was, calling it "extremely unfair."
One of the hardest things in the process for her is to watch Boeing consistently under fire for safety issues.
"I can't ignore it, I can't escape it, it resurfaces, it takes me back to March 10, 2019," she said. "To know that poor decisions are still being made with the respect of safety and they're still having accidents and mishaps, planes are literally falling out of the sky and that's a problem."
"This settlement will bring a measure of closure to Lewis' widow, Yalena Lopez-Lewis, but can never make up for this heartbreaking and life-altering loss for his family," attorney Antonio Romanucci said.
The firm for Belanger said he was the director of professional development at PCL Construction and a founding member of an environmental nonprofit group.
At the time of the crash, he was flying to a United Nations Environmental Assembly where he was scheduled to speak. He left behind his wife Amie and his two parents.
"I'm happy for my client. She stood her ground. We are satisfied with the resolution, accountability, and closure," attorney Mark Lindquist said.
The terms of the settlements are confidential.
"Although these settlements don't bring back their loved ones, hopefully, these settlements will begin to offer some closure to these families who have waited so long for justice. And the fight against Boeing will continue for the remaining cases with the next trial beginning on July 14 and another trial for victims' families currently scheduled for November 3," trial lawyer Robert Clifford said.
