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Tow truck operator to get $340K from CFD for dragging

CHEYENNE n A Laramie County jury has awarded a tow truck driver $340,000 in damages as a result of a 2004 incident when he was roped and dragged by an outrider during Cheyenne Frontier Days.

The jury found Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. and a subcontractor responsible for the injuries that Randy LeBeaumont suffered. He was responding to a police call to move an illegally parked vehicle at 26th Street and Carey Avenue.

LeBeaumont, 40, walked with a noticeable limp on his left side when he approached the witness stand in the courtroom of District Judge Peter Arnold to testify Jan. 31 in the second day of the trial.

The owner of Randy’s Towing said a city police officer let him by a barricade at Central Avenue and East Pershing Boulevard so he could drive south on Central the morning of July 24, 2004.

LeBeaumont estimated he was driving 5 miles per hour near the site of the former Laramie County Public Library when a horse driven by Clay Sullivan pulled into his path, forcing him to stop.

The two then got into a heated argument about whether LeBeaumont should continue down Central.

LeBeaumont said he got out of his truck to emphasize his point, and as he reached back into the vehicle to grab his cell phone to call police, he felt his arms being sucked to his side.

“When did you realize there was a rope around you?” asked his attorney, Rhonda Woodard.

“I don’t know,” LeBeaumont answered. “When I was getting dragged down the street. It all happened so fast.”

LeBeaumont said he was able to keep up a fast-paced jog for about 75 feet before he was able to free himself from the rope and run back to his truck.

“As fast as we were going,” he testified, “I just kept thinking, If I fall and go under those horses’ feet, I’m going to be killed.’”

LeBeaumont’s attorneys said the 1,150-pound horse dragging LeBeaumont, who weighs about 165 pounds, left him with back, hip and leg injuries that will require future medical expenses and limit his ability to run his business.

Woodard estimated LeBeaumont has only been able to respond to 60 percent of his tow calls, forcing him to hire an assistant.

A physician who testified on LeBeaumont’s behalf said it is likely he will need surgery to help relieve pain from a bulging disk in his back.

Sullivan, 49, was an outrider selected by Larry Romsa, a subcontractor hired by Frontier Days to provide the horses, wagons, drivers and outriders for the rodeo’s parades through the streets of Cheyenne.

Sullivan was not a defendant in the case.

The jury of four men and two women deliberated for nearly four hours Tuesday before reaching its verdict. The civil trial spanned parts of three weeks and included six days of testimony.

The amount of damages LeBeaumont is due to get is $340,000. The court reduced the amount by one-fifth from the initially awarded $425,000 because the jury found LeBeaumont to be 20 percent at fault.

LeBeaumont and his attorney said he will not pocket the full $340,000 once medical expenses, attorneys’ fees and other court costs are deducted.

Dave Johansen, executive director of CFD, said he could not say whether the expense of the verdict will alter the scope of the event in future years.

“That remains to be seen,” he said.

He added the general committee and board of directors will meet to discuss the verdict and make plans for any changes that may be necessary as a result.

During the trial, defense attorneys showed a surveillance video shot last summer of LeBeaumont towing and unloading vehicles while responding to routine calls.

The footage was taken without LeBeaumont’s knowledge, and the defense tried to show that he was able to adequately perform his job despite his claims.

Woodard said repeatedly in her closing argument that Sullivan failed to act like an “ordinary, careful” person under the circumstances. She suggested there were several alternatives to roping LeBeaumont.

Lead defense attorney Greg Greenlee portrayed Sullivan as the “quintessential cowboy” who truly cared about the health and well-being of his horse and protecting the safety of spectators

He argued LeBeaumont drove his truck into the horse and tried to pull Sullivan off his saddle.

Greenlee commended Sullivan for his actions that he said may have prevented LeBeaumont from driving closer to the parade and possibly spooking other horses, putting spectators at risk.

After the verdict was read, Greenlee said he was disappointed and that the defense will evaluate whether to appeal to the State Supreme Court.

Sullivan pleaded no contest and was found guilty after the incident to violating a city ordinance of disturbing the peace.

Defendants often use the plea when a civil trial is likely to be held because it is not an admission of guilt. Sullivan faced no other criminal charges.

LeBeaumont says he is no longer on the list of eligible tow truck drivers to be called during Frontier Days.