Jelly Belly Family Sued After World War II Tank Crushes Man

The family of a man who was killed last year when he was run over by a World War II-era tank owned by the Jelly Belly Candy Company chairman has filed a lawsuit against the Jelly Belly family.

Dwayne Brasher, the 62-year-old husband of Jelly Belly CEO Lisa Brasher, was driving the tank down a dirt road at a family reunion in August 2015, when Kevin Wright, 54, fell off the tanker and into its path. The tanker belonged to Lisa Brasher’s father, Herman Rowland Sr., who is chairman of the board at the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Rowland restores old military vehicles and keeps them in a personal showroom in Fairfield, Calif., where the family reunion was being held.

Wright left behind two adult daughters and an elderly father. The lawsuit, filed May 11 in California Superior Court, accuses Rowland and Dwayne Brasher of negligence resulting in wrongful death, the Daily Beast reported.

“Defendants had a duty to train and supervise the persons operating the M5 tank and to lend their World War II vehicles only to individuals with sufficient knowledge to drive them so as to ensure they would be operated safely,” the lawsuit claims, according to the Daily Beast.

Wright had been employed to help maintain the military vehicles owned by Rowland.