The scene of the crash July 4, 2022, at the Beachfront RV Park in Brookings.

A Southern Oregon University professor who was left partially paralyzed and the man who crashed his van into the Brookings RV park where she was visiting on Independence Day in 2022 have settled a lawsuit in the case, their attorneys said this week.

Rebecca Williams, assistant professor in the SOU School of Business, filed a notice of dismissal Sept. 29, ahead of a November trial in Curry County Circuit Court in which she was going to ask jurors to consider whether Paul Armenta and the business he operates, Demand Surf and Skate, should pay her $3 million to help pay for her medical care.

Williams’ attorney, Josh Lamborn, said in an interview that “there’s no reason to pursue the lawsuit any further if there’s no more money to get.”

He said an investigation into Armenta, 66, revealed he had little to his name. Most relevant to this case was the state minimum insurance policy of $25,000 per person in the event of bodily injury.

“If he had more money, we would go to trial,” Lamborn said. 

He said the settlement in the case was “the best we can do.”

Lamborn said Armenta’s insurance was paid out to each victim in the case, which included Williams’ friend, Hiedei Bailey, 38, of White City, who was killed in the crash, and Doris Dianne Bever, of Discovery Bay, California, who was injured. Bailey and Bever were not listed as plaintiffs in Williams’ lawsuit.

The cost of the SOU professor’s medical care post-accident was covered by Armenta’s insurance and by Williams’ underinsured motorist insurance policy, according to Lamborn. Her insurance company tendered its policy limits to her, he said.

Lamborn said he is disappointed that his clients’ health insurer “has to eat over $1 million in bills.”

“I feel terrible about it because my client deserves to be compensated for what she lost, and Paul Armenta doesn’t have enough money or insurance to cover her losses,” Lamborn said.

Williams was sitting at a picnic table at Beachfront RV Park in Brookings-Harbor with friends and family around 2:23 p.m. July 4 when Armenta drove his van through the campsite at 20-30 mph, according to police. The van struck Williams, Bailey and Bever before it crashed into other motorhomes parked at the RV park. 

The Curry County District Attorney’s Office did not file driving under the influence of intoxicants charges against Armenta, who, according to Williams, ingested marijuana and ate food, but did not take his Type 2 diabetes medication. 

“While none of this would change the amount of money the victims receive, it leaves them with a sense that justice was not done and undermines their faith in the system,” Lamborn wrote in an email.

He did not delve into Williams’ spirits these days or her condition, except to say that, “unfortunately, she has permanent injuries and no amount of money can ever fully compensate her for her loss.”

Lamborn added: “She also lost her best friend. So she is understandably still upset.”

Armenta’s attorney Tracy McGovern declined to comment.