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Bettendorf Town Council approves settlement after bridge incident on I-74 that left two people dead

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The Bettendorf City Council approved settlements in civil cases related to the collision on the Interstate 74 pedestrian bridge that left two people dead and another seriously injured.

The resolution was adopted at the city council meeting on Tuesday, June 18.

In 2022, the Rock Island County District Attorney’s Office filed numerous charges against 47-year-old Chhabria Harris of East Moline, accusing her of being the driver who struck 21-year-old Ethan Gonzalez, 18-year-old Anthony Castaneda, and then-22-year-old Charles Bowen on May 22, 2022. Gonzalez and Castaneda died. Bowen was seriously injured but survived.







Monument on the I-74 bridge (copy)

Memorials line a portion of the I-74 bridge’s pedestrian walkway in May 2022. They commemorate Ethan Gonzalez and Anthony M. Castaneda, two of three pedestrians struck by a drunk driver in an SUV traveling on the walkway. Gonzalez and Castaneda both died, and the third pedestrian, Charles Bowen, was injured but survived.


FILE


Harris pleaded guilty to aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol causing death and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2023. The other charges were dropped.

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The families of Bowen, Castaneda and Gonzalez have also filed civil lawsuits against defendants including Harris, the town of Bettendorf and the city of Moline. Harris had entered the bridge on the Bettendorf side.

According to the documents, the city’s costs will be covered by insurance and subject to the city’s insurance deductible of $10,000. Bettendorf’s insurance provider will cover the remaining costs.

Charles Bowen will receive $450,000 from Bettendorf or the city’s insurance provider and $30,000 from Moline or Moline’s insurance provider, according to Bettendorf’s settlement documents. The settlement includes Bettendorf, Moline and the state of Iowa. A payment from the state is not listed.

Castaneda’s parents and their estate will receive $1.125 million from Bettendorf or its insurance provider and $70,000 from Moline or its insurance provider, the documents show. The agreement includes Bettendorf, Moline and the state of Iowa, although no payments from the state are listed.

According to the documents, Gonzalez’s family and estate will receive $750,000 from Bettendorf and his vendor. The agreement is only with Bettendorf.

The settlement agreements release all claims against the named defendants and the defendants do not admit liability under the agreements, as the documents show. All amounts were negotiated according to the agreements between the parties involved.

The City of Bettendorf released a statement from City Manager Decker Ploehn saying that the resolution approved by City Council is the only comment the city will make from now on.

The city is not admitting fault, Ploehn said, and the settlement was ordered by the city’s insurance provider, the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool, and recommended by outside counsel and the city attorney.

“This was a tragic incident,” said Ploehn. “The city admits no fault, but the city council has decided that the settlements are in the best interest of the city.”

Moline officials did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The item was not on the City Council’s agenda Tuesday.

Online court records did not indicate any change in the status of the lawsuit in Illinois District Court, nor did the federal lawsuits filed by Gonzalez and Castaneda’s families show any change in status.

Bowen filed a document in his lawsuit in federal court showing that he reached a settlement with Bettendorf but not with the other defendants.

In the lawsuit against the state of Iowa, filed by the family and estate of Bowen and Castaneda in Polk County, an order states that a settlement has been reached and the parties intend to dismiss the lawsuit.

Anthony Watt and Connor Wood contributed to this report.

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