Settlement Reached in Hyundai Exec's DUI Case
Friday, Sep 17, 2010 | Updated 6:47 AM PDT
Getty Images
Attorneys for Hyundai and the family of a motorcycle rider killed in a drunken driving collision caused by one of its executives settled the family's wrongful death lawsuit Thursday.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, said attorney Wylie Aitken, who represented the family of Ryan Dallas Cook, who was 23 years old when he was killed in the Oct. 19, 2005, collision caused by former Hyundai executive Youn Bum Lee. The lawsuit alleged that Hyundai encouraged excessive drinking at company events and that executives tried to help Lee elude authorities.
"The parties have settled their claims on terms that are satisfactory to all parties,'' said Cook's father, Carlton Cook. ``We are relieved to put this litigation process behind us.''
Hyundai representatives late Thursday said they were unaware of the settlement and could not comment.
A trial on the lawsuit was scheduled to begin Sept. 7, but both sides entered into negotiations, which were finalized today, Aitken said.
Lee pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and fleeing an accident scene and was sentenced Dec. 7 to nine years in prison.
"We are pleased that the legal system prevailed and that Youn Bum Lee was brought back from Korea and is now serving his sentence for the death of our son,'' Carlton Cook said.
Lee was drinking at a Hyundai-sponsored dinner in Garden Grove and was driving a company-issued sport utility vehicle without its headlines on the night of the deadly collision.
Lee was southbound on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway just after midnight when the vehicle veered into the center divider, then rolled back into the carpool lane south of Dyer Road in Santa Ana.
Cook apparently did not see the Hyundai and crashed his motorcycle into the sport utility vehicle. He was flung onto the pavement and other vehicles ran him over.
Lee fled the scene, but drove the damaged vehicle to work the next morning.
Prosecutors said he tried to get rid of damning evidence, including a shattered rear window and the victim's blood and hair. He also consulted with a co-worker and a company lawyer before he was driven to Los Angeles International Airport, where he took a flight to Seoul about 24 hours after the collision, according to prosecutors.
Lee is serving his sentence in the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown, Aitken said.
Cook was a musician who played in the Orange County-based Suburban Legends band, which toured nationally for several years, Aitken said.
