The late R&B icon Angela Laverne tragically passed away on March 1, 2025, due to injuries sustained in a truck accident.
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Following the tragic passing of late R&B icon Angela Laverne (“Angie”) Stone in March of 2025, her two children, Diamond Stone and Michael D’Angelo Archer, are now taking legal action to avenge her preventable death. On September 2, 2025, her children filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia’s State Court of Gwinnett County against the drivers, truck manufacturers, and trucking companies responsible for the Alabama truck accident that caused fatal injuries to Stone while injuring several others.
Details Surrounding the Interstate Crash
Stone’s surviving children, Diamond Stone and Michael D’Angelo Archer, are pursuing legal action against the drivers, truck manufacturers, and trucking companies responsible for the Alabama accident.
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According to the lawsuit, Stone and her bandmates were traveling north on I-65 after a performance in Mobile, Alabama in a 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van owned by Good 2 Go Cafe LLC, Executive Elite Transportation, LLC, and Joseph L. Robinson. The Sprinter was driven by Leethel Carter who allegedly lost control of the vehicle, causing the van to exit towards the left side of the road. While attempting to steer the van back to the right side, the vehicle overturned onto its driver’s side and ended up in the left lane, leaving the right lane unobstructed. Stone, reportedly properly secured by her seatbelt, allegedly survived this initial collision without any serious injuries, along with the other passengers.
As the passengers attempted to escape the overturned van, its headlights, taillights, and running lights remained on. The lawsuit adds that during this time, several drivers saw the Sprinter van and either safely drove around the vehicle in the open lane or pulled over to the right shoulder with their four-way flashers on to help as many passengers as possible exit.
However, a 2021 Freightliner CRST tractor-trailer – equipped with Detroit Assurance 5.0 and manufactured by Daimler Truck North America LLC and Detroit Diesel Corporation – driven by Jared Wilkinson proceeded in I-65 North’s left lane. Without applying his brakes, Wilkinson allegedly crashed into the overturned van with his CRST tractor-trailer while Stone was still inside attempting to escape. The severe force of the impact caused Stone to be ejected from and subsequently pinned underneath the van, ultimately dying from her injuries.
Will a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Be Successful?
In addition to highlighting the need for justice for Stone’s children, the case raises awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and overreliance on surveillance technology.
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Stone’s children are implicating numerous parties, a common strategy in wrongful death cases to maximize compensation, leverage discovery access, and ultimately set the framework for the claim while evidence is still being gathered.
While each party could undoubtedly bear some responsibility, the lawsuit highlights two key factors that, if found to be accurate, could implicate the parties associated with the tractor-trailer more than the parties associated with the Sprinter van.
Several drivers who were paying proper attention to the highway and driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions were able to safely pass the Sprinter van using the right lane. This implies that it was possible for Wilkinson to do the same, meaning he could be held liable for negligence. Notably, the lawsuit cites that Wilkinson was listening to music at the time of the crash, which may be argued to have contributed to his distractiveness.
Moreover, the lawsuit points out that the tractor-trailer was equipped with the collision mitigation system Detroit Assurance 5.0, which is “marketed and advertised as a system that will warn tractor-trailer drivers of moving and stationary objects in the roadway, partially brake the tractor-trailer, and then fully brake the tractor-trailer if the driver does not respond.” Because Stone allegedly suffered no major injuries from the initial crash, and given that five of the van’s nine passengers escaped unscathed, it is plausible to assume that had Detroit Assurance 5.0 functioned as advertised, the legendary singer would be alive today.
While this does not absolve the Sprinter van’s driver or manufacturers of responsibility, CRST, Daimler, and Detroit Diesel could likely each be held liable for some combination of negligence and strict products liability, given that each entity bears some role in allowing the vehicle to operate on roads despite a clearly malfunctioning collision mitigation system.
When reached out to for commentary, Daimler stated, “We extend our sincere condolences to the victims of this incident and their families during this difficult time. We cannot comment on pending litigation at this time.”
The high-profile nature of Stone’s case raises awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and reliance on surveillance technology, pressuring the manufacturers to assess the accuracy of their products to prevent this tragedy from occurring again. As technology continues to integrate into automobiles, this case may reopen the conversations surrounding the dangers of reliance on these systems, highlighting the need for human operators.
Legal Entertainment has reached out to representation for comment, and will update this story as necessary.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalentertainment/2025/09/15/angie-stones-wrongful-death-lawsuit-names-manufacturers-and-drivers/
