Fort Worth driver failed to safely change lanes, killed another motorist, lawsuit says
A Fort Worth driver who failed to safely change lanes on Interstate 35W, causing a fatal traffic accident in October faces a charge of manslaughter, according to a lawsuit and jail records.
Jeton Avdiu was following other vehicles too closely, failed to maintain a safe speed and did not keep a proper lookout on the afternoon of Oct. 10 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35W near downtown Fort Worth that resulted in a traffic wreck that killed 33-year-old Mason David Crews of Watauga, according to court documents.
Avdiu, 38, was booked into the Fort Worth Jail Monday and he was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
He was in the Tarrant County Jail Wednesday in lieu of $250,000 bail on the manslaughter charge.
Last week, Crews’ father, Dennis J. Luellen of Denton, filed a $1 million wrongful death lawsuit in Fort Worth against Avdiu and Eric Hinojosa, a driver for Cadence Delivery and Amazon.com, who also was involved in the crash. The lawsuit also named Cadence Delivery and Amazon.com.
“A few weeks before his tragic and avoidable death, Mason had become engaged and had moved into a new home,” said attorney Steve Kotara of Arlington, who is representing Luellen. “Mr. Luellen hopes to see that justice is done against all the parties at fault in this three-vehicle accident.”
Avdiu denied the allegations in court documents filed Friday in Fort Worth. The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 15.
In October, Fort Worth police said Crews was killed in a roll-over accident in the 300 block of Interstate 35W. He was thrown out of a car through the sunroof.
At that time, Fort Worth police did not release any other details.
A Fort Worth detective stated in a report that Avdiu was charged with manslaughter because he was not being truthful when he described the evasive action he took to avoid the crash based on witness statements, a scale diagram review and an officer’s body camera videos.
Avdiu, traveling northbound near the Lancaster Avenue exit, crossed multiple lanes of traffic in an effort to exit the freeway, putting his wife and two children at risk, according to the Fort Worth police report.
Jail records showed that Avdiu was taken into custody Monday on charges of abandoning or endangering a child.
Those charges involve his two daughters, 5 and 8, who were in Avdiu’s car at the time of the fatal accident, according to a Fort Worth police report.
He was being held on $5,000 bond each of those charges.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
