College student Jane Cuthbert and research technician Allison Walsh were killed in September 2005. A commuter train from Joliet to Chicago derailed while changing tracks. More than 80 others were injured.

Federal officials have said the train was traveling about 70 mph. The train's engineer was fired in 2006.

On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Thomas Hogan approved the Nebraska Wrongful Death settlement.

Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet (PAR'-dohn-nay) had no comment.

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Attorneys for Pat Britton, mother of teenager Jesse Britton, will file the lawsuit against Thompson, the City of Crawford and Dan Kling, a Nebraska Game and Parks employee in the near future.

The lawsuit will be filed in U.S. District Court and the trial will take place at the federal building in North Platte.

Recent news reports, including from the Omaha World Herald and the Associated Press, that the lawsuit was filed in Scotts Bluff County District Court are incorrect. Robert Chaloupka, an attorney from Scottsbluff, intends to file the lawsuit but it will be in federal court.

The North Platte Bulletin obtained a copy of the lawsuit Wednesday.

Crawford is a community of 1,100 people near Fort Robinson State Park that had been rocked by a number of burglaries.

Britton was a suspect in the burglaries around Crawford and Thompson had been looking for him.

On Oct. 3, 2007, Thompson got a tip that Britton was hiding in an abandoned bar in downtown Crawford. Thompson placed two officers outside the bar and he and Kling went inside.

The men located Britton in an upstairs room when he popped up from behind a desk, according to sources. Britton was pointing a .22-caliber Ruger pistol at Thompson. The unloaded gun later turned out to be one that had been stolen in the recent burglaries. Thompson ordered the boy to drop the gun. When he didn’t, Thompson fired three times and hit the teen with his third shot. Kling fired twice and both shots hit Britton.

The boy died at the scene.

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This situation is tragic for everyone. The culprit in this case may be beef. Millions of pounds of beef products have been recalled recently, most if it by one processor, Nebraska Beef, Ltd., a company with a history of sanitation violations.

Although beef is the most common source of E. coli outbreaks, other foods can be the source of E. coli infections, including but not limited to leafy greens and unpasteurized apple cider and milk.

One of our recent E. coli wrongful death cases involved spinach. Another E. coli wrongful death case our law firm is handling involves a restaurant where a goat was slaughtered in the restaurant kitchen.

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