Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed In 2024 Log Truck, Propane Truck Crash That Killed Molino Girl

December 19, 2025

One year after 12-year-old Sofia Bennett of Molino died in a multi-vehicle crash in Pace, a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against several companies involved in the wreck.

Sofia’s mother, Sandra Bennett-Tidwell, and John Tidwell filed the lawsuit against Timber Contractors Trucking, Parker Gas Company, Inc., and J.E. Estes Wood Company, Inc.

The crash happened about 10:35 a.m. December 18, 2024, on Quintette Road at Tunnel Road in Pace, just east of Five Points. The wreck involved a log truck, a propane delivery truck, and two passenger vehicles, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to the FHP report, the crash claimed the life of Sofia Bennett, who was a passenger in an SUV driven by a 50-year-old woman. The woman suffered serious injuries and was taken to an area hospital. The log truck driver, a 47-year-old Bay Minette man, was also seriously injured. The driver of the propane delivery truck and the driver of the second SUV were not injured.

“One year ago today, a young life was taken in a crash that never should have happened,” Attorney Rachael Gilmer of the Levin Papantonio law firm said Thursday. She is representing the plaintiffs in the civil action. “No verdict, no settlement, and no courtroom can return a daughter to her family, but accountability is the only way we honor her memory and ensure that this kind of negligence does not claim another life.”

According to the complaint filed Thursday morning in Santa Rosa County Circuit Court, Sofia was traveling in the front seat of the vehicle her mother was driving on Quintette Road in Santa Rosa County. Chadwick Daniels was operating a semi-truck as an employee of Parker Gas, and Kathryn Shiver was operating a semi-truck as an employee of Timber Contractors. The complaint also states defendant J.E. Estes was handling logistics for the delivery of timber from Timber Contractors.

The lawsuit alleges that, “without cause or warning,” Shiver rear-ended Bennett-Tidwell’s vehicle, which then collided into the Parker Gas truck and became sandwiched between it and the Timber Contractors truck. The Parker Gas truck was allegedly stopped and waiting to make an illegal turn onto Tunnel Road.

The plaintiffs allege that as employers of Shiver and Daniels, Timber Contractors Trucking and Parker Gas Company breached their duty of care, and J.E. Estes negligently breached its duty of care.

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