The mother of a Columbia teenager killed as the result of a single-vehicle car crash on Sept. 1 has filed a wrongful death suit in Monroe County Circuit Court.

Tara Luhr, mother of the late Crawford Bryant and special administrator of his estate, is suing a minor who was driving at the time of the crash and his mother Mami Stawizynski. 

Court documents filed on Monday allege fault by the driver, claiming he “negligently and carelessly” failed to properly brake and operated the vehicle “at a rate of speed that was high, excessive, dangerous and not reasonably safe.”

On Sept. 1, which was Labor Day weekend, emergency personnel responded about 3 p.m. to a single-vehicle rollover crash with multiple serious injuries in the 4100 block of Hanover Road just west of Route 3 north of Waterloo.

The Illinois State Police stated in a press release that “preliminary reports indicate that a Waterloo Police Department officer observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Route 3. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle was discovered on Hanover Road, involved in a single-vehicle crash.”

The Monroe County Coroner’s Office later said Bryant was a passenger in a 2013 Nissan Altima that left the roadway and struck a tree.

Bryant, 15, was pronounced deceased on scene by the Monroe County Coroner’s Office, ISP said. Another occupant of the vehicle was airlifted to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, while two other students were transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The passenger who was seriously injured was later identified as Columbia hockey player Jacob Nelson, who is still recovering to this day.

Bryant was a sophomore member of the Columbia High School soccer team. The others involved in the crash are CHS students.

The lawsuit filed Monday also alleges negligent entrustment on behalf of the mother of the driver. 

The filing states the mother “knew or should have known” her son was “likely to use (the car) in a manner involving an unreasonable risk of harm to others.”

Luhr is seeking damages in an amount greater than $75,000 for grief, mental anguish and burial expenses.

Luhr’s attorney is Samantha Unsell of the Keffe, Keefe & Unsell firm of Belleville.