Mountain Valley Express, a California trucking company, recently settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed when one of the company's semi-trucks collided with the man's automobile, killing him instantly. Edwin Torrey was decapitated during the March 8, 2001 accident when the Mountain Valley tractor trailer crossed the Ventura Freeway and struck Torrey's Ford Ranger.

While the semi's driver, Pablo Solorio, still faces misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter, his employer, Mountain Valley Express, decided to settle the case for $2.68 million rather than fight the family at trial. The lawsuit was filed against Mountain Valley after Torrey's family learned that the company knew of Solorio's poor driving record, yet allowed him to drive the company's large trucks.