In November 2009 the husband of the woman killed by the collapsed Taco Bell sign in North Platte sued Wilkinson Development, the owner of the property.

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Now Wilkinson has added a third-party defendant to the suit, Love’s Signs.

In a complaint filed Feb. 23, Wilkinson alleged that if any negligence was involved in the collapse, it lay at the feet of Love’s, doing business as Condon’s House of Signs.

In the four page document Wilkinson alleged that the sign company:

• failed to properly inspect the pole while repairing the sign

• failed to warn about defects in the pole that created a danger to the public

• failed to make appropriate repairs to the pole and sign when hired to perform maintenance and repairs, and

• failed to warn about characteristics of the sign or pole that would make it unreasonably dangerous.

The new complaint echoed Wilkinson’s December answer to the original complaint in which they alleged that the negligence of others, over which they had no control, was the cause of Durre’s death.

The original suit

When the 65’ tall sign collapsed on April 3 2009 and killed Diane Durre, Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Todd Engleman called it a “one-in-a-million freak accident.”

The original suit, filed Nov. 13, alleged that Wilkinson Development failed to properly maintain, inspect, design, install, and erect the sign that so catastrophically failed. It also claimed that the Wilkinson Development failed to warn the Durres and failed to protect them and the general public from the sign.

The suit stated that Wilkinson Development was either ware of the perilous condition of the sign, or through reasonable should have discovered that the sign was flawed.

It stated, “As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of the Defendant (Wilkinson Development) in failing to maintain a safe condition around the premises of the business, Dianna Durre was killed, crushed by a collapsing sign while sitting in a parked truck.”

Mark Durre is seeking on behalf of his late wife’s estate “such damages as are reasonable in these premises and for such other and further relief as allowed by Nebraska law. Also sought are medical expenses and $11,269.61 in funeral costs.

The accident

The Durres, both 49, left their home in Chambers the morning of April 3 and drove to North Platte.

They made the 3:32 trip with two dogs – a female Yorkie who was pregnant and a male Norich Terrier. The plan was to meet Nancy and Doran Boston of Casper, Wyo.

The Bostons had met the Durres on the Internet and were buying the Terrier. When they made plans, they decided to meet and exchange the dog underneath the giant Taco Bell sign in North Platte.

After driving 186 miles and by some twist of fate, the Durres parked in the exact spot where the sign would fall only minutes later.

Without warning, it fell.

The pickup was parked in the rear parking lot of a Conoco service station/Taco Bell restaurant at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Hwy. 83.

The pole broke at a welded joint about 15-feet above the ground.

The top of the sign fell directly on top of the couple’s quad-cab pickup.

The tragedy occurred about 12:30 p.m.

Mark Durre suffered a crushed finger but remained conscious.

Diane Durre was stunned momentarily but regained consciousness, according to Chief Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Todd Engleman. She died at the scene before the ambulances arrived.

“It was a one-in-a-million freak accident,” Engleman said.

Police officers at the scene said had the car been either forward three feet or backward three feet the outcome could have been completely different, that neither might have been injured.

The dogs were in the back seat and were uninjured, Engleman said. They were taken to the North Platte Animal Shelter.

Animal control officer John Pettit said a veterinarian checked the dogs and they checked out fine.

Kerrie Kelsey, Shelter Director, took the pregnant Yorkie home with her that night. She said the incident caused the Yorkie to go into labor and that she stayed with the Yorkie from 5:30 p.m. until about 2 a.m.

The Yorkie had six puppies, Kelsey said.

Friends of the Durres took the Yorkie and the puppies back to Chambers the next day, Kelsey said.

The Bostons took the Terrier to Casper the next day too.

The National Weather Center Office in North Platte recorded wind speeds of 30-35 miles an hour at the time at the North Platte Regional Airport, with an occasional gust of 40 miles an hour.

Bill Negley of Custom Craft Signs said high rise signs of this type were engineered to withstand straight winds of up to 110 mph. A flexible faced sign was designed to bend and flex with increased winds.

It’s that reason that leads sign experts to believe the joints may have been weakened or a crack developed or some other cause was a contributing factor.

The Bostons arrived at Taco Bell not long after the sign landed on the Durres’ pickup. They watched helplessly as two front-end loaders lifted the sign and paramedics used the Jaws of Life to get to the Durres.

Mike Durre, Mark’s brother, told the Bulletin in April that Mark had to have his finger amputated. He said his brother was in some physical pain from the from the finger and the other bumps and bruises he received when the sign came crashing down.

“But his biggest pain is emotional,” Mike Durre said. “He lost his loving wife.”

Mike Durre thanked North Platte residents for caring.

“The whole community of North Platte seemed to reach out and help us while we were there,” Durre said. “The hospital staff was just amazing.”