Fatal accident results in lawsuit

The family of a Jefferson County minor are suing over claims he was fatally injured in a collision.

Summer Aiena, as next friend of minor children James Brycen McDonald and Baylen Anthony McDonald, and Marilyn McDonald filed a lawsuit Nov. 12, 2014, in Jefferson County District Court against Charles Michael Blanchard Jr. and Trevor Heath Denton, citing negligence.

According to the complaint, James McDonald was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Denton on U.S. Route 90 on Oct. 24, 2014, when Denton hit Blanchard, who was driving a tractor on the shoulder. The complaint states McDonald was injured in the collision and later died from his injuries. His family is suing for loss of companionship.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Chris M. Portner and J. Trenton Bond of Portner Bond in Beaumont, and Matthew C. Matheny of Provost Umphrey Law Firm in Beaumont.

Jefferson County District Court case number: B-196387