The Ammons Law Firm: Texas Jury Returns $49 Million Verdict Against Trucking Company and Driver in 18-Wheeler Crash That Killed Midland Father of Two

Jury: OPG Logistics, LLC and Driver Were Grossly Negligent in Death of Steffan Robert Mick

ODESSA, Texas, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- An Ector County, Texas jury awarded $49 million to the family of Steffan Robert Mick, a 29-year-old husband and father of two young children who was killed when an OPG Logistics, LLC 18-wheeler turned left across his path on FM 307 near Midland, The Ammons Law Firm said today.

The verdict was entered against OPG Logistics, LLC, a Texas commercial motor carrier, and Biorkys Sanchez Fernandez, the driver of the company-issued 18-wheeler involved in the January 27, 2025 crash. Late on Wednesday, the jury found that Sanchez failed to yield the right of way, made an unsafe left turn and caused the crash that killed Mick. The jury also found that OPG Logistics and Sanchez were grossly negligent.

The verdict was reached after a three-day trial in the 244th Judicial District Court of Ector County, Texas. In awarding $40.5 million in compensatory damages, the jury assigned 65 percent of the responsibility to OPG Logistics, LLC and 35 percent to Sanchez. The unanimous jury also awarded punitive damages of $8.5 million after finding that the defendants acted with conscious indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of the motoring public and to Steffan Robert Mick specifically.

The Case

Trial evidence showed that Steffan Robert Mick was driving eastbound on FM 307, also known locally as the Nathan Heidelberg Memorial Highway, at approximately 6:36 p.m. on January 27, 2025. He was driving home from work in his 2001 Chevrolet Suburban, traveling within the posted 60-mile-per-hour speed limit, wearing his seatbelt and operating with his headlights on. He had no stop sign, yield sign, traffic light or other traffic-control device requiring him to yield.

Sanchez was driving westbound on FM 307 in a 2016 Peterbilt 579 tractor-trailer owned by OPG Logistics, LLC and towing an unloaded 42-foot belly dump trailer. As she approached the intersection with the Interstate 20 North Service Road, Sanchez attempted to turn left across the eastbound lane. The front left side of the Peterbilt struck the driver side of Mick's Suburban. The impact was catastrophic. Mick was found alive at the scene, gasping, and was pronounced dead at 6:58 p.m.

Trial evidence showed that Mick's headlights were visible to oncoming traffic as early as eight seconds before the collision. Sanchez acknowledged that an 18-wheeler requires more time and space than a passenger vehicle to yield the right of way because of its length and weight, and that failing to yield can seriously injure or kill the driver of an approaching vehicle.

The evidence also showed that Sanchez had been driving for more than 12 hours and on duty more than 15 hours following her last eight consecutive hours off duty, exceeding applicable hours-of-service limits. Plaintiffs alleged that Sanchez falsified her Records of Duty Status, including the day before the fatal crash, and that OPG Logistics had access to electronic logging data and alerts that could have revealed hours-of-service violations before anyone was hurt.

Plaintiffs further alleged that OPG Logistics operated its fleet without basic safety infrastructure. According to the pleadings and trial evidence, OPG Logistics sent Sanchez and other drivers onto public roads under its USDOT number without a driver training manual, a safety manual, written safe-driving policies and procedures, instructional videos, third-party safety training, group safety meetings or periodic driver performance reviews. After the fatal crash, OPG Logistics issued a warning to Sanchez for failure to follow company protocols - even though the company had no written protocols - and then required safety training that it had not provided before the crash.

The case is Kayla Callahan, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Steffan Robert Mick, deceased, and as Next Friend of R.M. and R.M., minors; Kevin Mick; and Jennifer Mick v. OPG Logistics, LLC and Biorkys Sanchez Fernandez, Cause No. C25020166CV, in the 244th Judicial District Court of Ector County, Texas.

About Steffan Robert Mick

Steffan Robert Mick was born on August 21, 1995, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and grew up in a military family that settled in Midland, Texas, in 2006. He graduated from Midland High School in 2013 and earned an associate's degree from Midland College. At the time of his death, he worked as a maintenance technician at ProPetro Services.

Mick is survived by his wife, Kayla Callahan; their daughter, Raylynn, who was not yet three years old when her father died; their son, Rhyder, who had her first birthday three weeks before the fatal crash; and his parents, Kevin and Jennifer Mick.

Counsel for the Family

The Mick family was represented at trail by Rob Ammons, and Elizabeth H. Lawrence of The Ammons Law Firm in Houston; and co-counsel Brian Carney of The Carney Law Firm in Midland.

Statements from Counsel and Family

Lead attorney Rob Ammons, The Ammons Law Firm: "Steffan Mick was 29 years old, driving home from work, within the speed limit, with his seatbelt on and his headlights on. He did nothing wrong. He was killed because a commercial trucking company put an untrained and unsupervised driver behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, ignored the safety rules that exist to protect everyone on the road, and then tried to call this preventable tragedy an accident. This jury rejected that and held OPG Logistics and its driver fully accountable. The evidence showed that this crash was not the result of one isolated mistake. OPG Logistics had no real safety program, no driver training infrastructure and no meaningful system for making sure its drivers followed mandatory hours-of-service rules. When a trucking company chooses to operate that way, the danger to the public is obvious and the consequences can be devastating. For Steffan's wife, children and parents, those consequences are permanent."

Kayla Callahan, widow of Steffan Mick: "Steffan was a husband, a father and a son. Our family will live with this loss every day. We're grateful the jury heard the evidence, understood the choices that led to this crash, and returned a verdict that speaks clearly about accountability and public safety on West Texas roads."

About The Ammons Law Firm

The Ammons Law Firm is a Houston-based catastrophic injury and wrongful death firm that tries serious cases across the country. The firm is headed by Rob Ammons, who has served as lead counsel on more than 550 separate cases resulting in verdicts or settlements in excess of $1 million, and dozens of verdicts or settlements of more than $10 million. The firm regularly accepts cases through referral counsel nationwide. Learn more at ammonslaw.com.

CONTACT: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for The Ammons Law Firm, 281.703.6000, [email protected].

SOURCE The Ammons Law Firm