The chairman of Jelly Belly is being sued in the death of a man run over by a World War II-era tank at the candy maker's reunion in California last summer, according to
NBC News.
The tank was owned by Jelly Belly chairman Herman Rowland Sr., who restores old military vehicles as a "passion project" at the American Armory Museum showroom in Fairfield, said
The Daily Beast.
At the time Kevin Wright was run over on Aug. 22, the vintage 1944 M5 tank was being operated by Dwayne Brasher, husband of Lisa Brasher, who is Rowland's daughter and Jelly Belly's chief executive, according to the lawsuit, noted NBC News.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court on May 11, charged that Dwayne Brasher was not trained to drive the tank and that Wright, a contractor who helped maintain vehicles at the location, was placed in a dangerous situation.
The Los Angeles Times had reported at the time that Dwayne Brasher was operating the tank in an open field on the family's property in Fairfield while Wright was riding as a passenger sitting on the front edge of the tank, looking inward.
When the tank started traveling down a dirt hill, Wright lost his balance, fell backwards and landed in front of the tank and it ran over him, authorities had told the Times.
"Defendants had a duty to train and supervise the persons operating the M5 tank and to lend their World War II vehicles only to individuals with sufficient knowledge to drive them so as to ensure they would be operated safely," the lawsuit charged, according to The Daily Beast.
The lawsuit charged that it was Dwayne Brasher, who was also named in the suit, who asked Wright to join him on the tank.
"Said defendants had a further duty to ensure that the vehicles had proper safety features such as seat belts and hand rails which could be used by passengers to ensure their safety during use," said the suit.
The Times said the family cooperated with a police investigation in the case.
Lisa Brasher, who has been Jelly Belly's chief executive since March 2015, is the fifth generation of her family involved in the candy business and reports to her father, noted the
Jelly Belly website.
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