Beecher Tragedy Wrongful Death Lawsuit Gets Settled

JOLIET, IL - Last week, court officials closed the Beecher tragedy wrongful death lawsuit after an out of court settlement was reached. The horrendous July 24, 2017 crash in Will County killed Lindsey Schmidt, her unborn child and her three small sons. Sean Woulfe, formerly of Beecher, has been charged with 16 felony counts of reckless homicide. Will County Sheriff's Department investigators determined that Woulfe was traveling 83 mph in a 55-mph speed zone when he blew through a stop sign at a rural intersection in Beecher, according to previous court testimony.

Files at the Will County Courthouse show that payments have been made to Edward Schmidt, the special administrator of the estates, to settle the wrongful death case.

He received a payment of $100,000 as the sole heir of Lindsey Schmidt; a payment of $50,000 as the sole heir of Owen Schmidt; a payment of $50,000 as the sole heir of Kaleb Schmidt; a payment of $50,000 as the sole heir of Weston Schmidt and a $50,000 payment as the sole heir of Baby Doe Schmidt, court records show.

"This court finds that Edward Schmidt is authorized to sign all the released documents as duly authorized legal representative; this court directs that GEICO make payment of the amounts set forth above directly and solely to Edward Schmidt as special administrator and sole heir," court documents state.

Meanwhile, the criminal case against Woulfe, who still faces 16 counts of reckless homicide, remains ongoing at the downtown Joliet courthouse. A pretrial hearing is set for May 25 in Courtroom 402. About the only noteworthy development of late is that the court granted the defendant permission to move from Beecher to Chicago.

Court records now list Woulfe, who turned 26 in March, as living in the 10700 block of South Pulaski Street.

He is being represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney George Lenard.

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Mugshot of Sean Woulfe via Will County Sheriff's Department