Family of man killed in Cranberry Township DUI crash suing U-Haul

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Beloved husband and father BJ Forsyth was killed last December when police said a drunk driver in a U-Haul truck ran a stoplight and crashed into him at the intersection of Ehrman Road and Route 19.

RELATED: Man facing homicide by vehicle, DUI charges after fatal crash in Cranberry Township

Darren Martin was charged and pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. According to court documents, this is Martin’s third DUI.

“If they would have done a simple check of his license history, there would have been no way they would have rented him that vehicle,” said Monte Rabner, family’s attorney.

Forsyth’s family is now suing the U-Haul company for negligence and wrongful death for renting the truck to Martin because he had two DUI convictions and several traffic violations before the deadly crash, according to the family’s attorney.

>>> ‘It’s not fair’: Loved ones remember Cranberry Township man killed in suspected DUI crash

In the lawsuit, they claim U-Haul did not check Martin’s driving history before renting him a truck at the U-Haul location in Monaca at the Beaver Valley Mall.

“It took us 30 seconds to do the search. There are no policies or procedures that U-Haul has in place to prevent renting a vehicle to somebody. They are basically handing him a weapon to go out into the public,” said Rabner.

Attorney Monte Rabner says the family wants justice.

“The family wants what is right we want to put preventive measures in place U-Haul should have procedures in place before they hand somebody a vehicle and for that, they should be responsible,” said Rabner.

Channel 11′s Jillian Hartmann reached out to U-Haul but is still waiting to hear back. Martin remains in prison and his sentencing is set for next month.

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