The New Jersey Turnpike Authority settled at least seven
lawsuits in the last year and a half — amounting to nearly
$1 million in payouts to plaintiffs — rather than take its
chances on long, costly court battles.
Among them was a $60,000 settlement with a man left
with chronic back, hip and leg pain after a fall at the
PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. In another case, the
authority agreed to pay up to $150,000 for the legal
fees of a paraplegic who said he had encountered
inadequate parking and inaccessible wheelchair
ramps and bathrooms at Garden State Parkway rest
areas in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The authority also agreed to modify the rest areas to
better accommodate the disabled.
In perhaps the most tragic case, the agency agreed to
pay $125,000 to the estate of Heather Bratton, a 19-
year-old fashion model who was at the height of her
career — she'd landed the cover of Vogue's Italian
edition — when she was burned to death in a turnpike
crash five years ago.
Bratton was in the back seat of a New York cab
heading to Newark Airport in 2006 when the cab — a
2003 Ford Crown Victoria — suddenly shut down in a
center lane near Exit 14 in Newark. The cab was
stationary and without lights or power. Another vehicle,
traveling between 45 and 50 mph, rear-ended the taxi,
which burst into flames, according to the state police
report.
