By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
A lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of a Joplin man injured a week ago at an off-road-vehicle rally at a mud pit in Ottawa County, Okla.
Joel Fulton was one of five people injured July 25 when a truck driving through a mud pit at D-Day Adventure Park went out of control and topped a concrete barrier where spectators were standing.
Asami Fujita, 29, of Guam, died at the scene after being pinned under the truck, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Fulton was transported to Missouri University Hospital in Columbia in serious condition. His condition had been upgraded to fair as of Friday, according to a hospital spokesman.
Also injured were Tony Rockrohr, 27, of Granby; Kevin Wallace, 45, of Carl Junction; and Joanne Sweet, 41, of Neosho. All three were taken to Freeman Hospital West, Joplin, where they were treated and released.
The lawsuit filed by Fulton and his wife, Angela Fulton, in Jasper County Circuit Court, seeks damages from The Bunker Extreme D-Day Adventure Park near Wyandotte and park owner Dewayne A. Convirs. It also seeks damages from Johnny Davis, of Southwest City, identified in the lawsuit as driver of the truck.
Attorney Aaron W. Smith, of Columbia, filed the action.
The lawsuit argues that Fulton was a participant in the rally and was lined up on a safety barrier. It contends Davis lost control of his vehicle while driving through the mud pit, and drove the truck through the safety barrier and into the spectator area.
As a result of the accident, the lawsuit alleges, Joel Fulton suffered extensive body trauma, suffered physically and emotionally, and has and will incur lost wages and substantial medical bills.
It contends The Bunker, and Convirs as owner, failed to maintain a safe place for participants and spectators, failed to prepare and screen participants correctly, increasing the risk of injury, and failed to implement adequate safety precautions.
The lawsuit contends Davis operated his vehicle in a careless and negligent manner at excessive speed, and with indifference to the safety of spectators and others.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial, and seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages from the business, Convirs and Davis.
“We just got the lawsuit,” Convirs said Friday. “I don’t have any comment at this time.”
Attempts to reach Davis were unsuccessful.
Venue
Jasper County is an appropriate venue for the lawsuit, attorney Aaron Smith said Friday, because Fulton is a county resident and because the adventure park circulated advertising “that solicited business from Jasper County, putting them within reach of Missouri courts.”
