After a drunk driver last summer smacked Wilmington’s historic Kenan Fountain–so hard that a piece of cement from it struck the railing of a nearby church–the City of Wilmington put nearly $74,000 into repairs.
That might have left some observers wondering why the car owner’s insurance company didn’t handle the bill.
City officials say recouping on the damages as such has been an ongoing effort, but one that may soon close. Wilmington City Council, following a closed session this week, authorized the city attorney’s office to pursue a settlement with the insurance company rather than enter legal action to recover full costs.
But the settlement plan could have Wilmington eating a chunk in the end.
City spokeswoman Malissa Talbert explained Thursday the insurance company had offered $50,000 maximum toward repairs to the fountain’s demolished limestone base. That’s about 67-percent of the total the city invested.
If that settlement goes through, the $23,875 remainder would be the city’s to absorb.
“At the end of the day, it was not going to be cost effective to try to pursue this further through legal means,” Talbert said. “It would cost more than we would gain, anyway, to recoup our costs.”
“This is not a done deal,” she added.
The crash in question happened in the early hours of August 5, 2012. According to the police report, a Suzuki carrying four–the driver and three passengers–was traveling west toward downtown Wilmington on Market Street before 5 a.m. when it crashed into the historic fountain that sits in the middle of Kenan Plaza, at Market’s intersection with Fifth Avenue.
The driver, Joshua Wayne Webb of Winston Salem, now 28 years old, was arrested and charged with driving while impaired. One of the passengers told police “they were going to get drunk and get some drugs when the accident happened,” as worded in the police report’s narrative.
The report indicated Webb was not the owner of the vehicle, which was insured through Integon National Insurance Company.
Talbert said executing the settlement could take weeks.
Kenan Fountain occupies the middle of the Market and Fifth intersection, where surroundings include the Bellamy Mansion, the Carolina Apartments building and First Baptist Church. The city received the fountain in 1921 from William Rand Kenan Jr., who deemed it a memorial to his parents, according to city information.
The fountain’s large, circular base requires motorists to bend around it in their travel, creating a situation that has made for a number of accidents. According to the city, there have been at least 75 car accidents in Kenan Plaza over the past five years. The fountain itself has sustained at least 20 impacts over the same period.
Most of those occurred around 2 a.m., according to the city’s traffic engineer.
That’s inspired city leadership to discuss a number of possible changes for the plaza, including reducing travel to one lane each way around the fountain, as opposed to the two lanes each way currently.
The city also recently invested $8,300 in new LED lighting around the plaza and at the fountain’s base to improve its nighttime visibility (though, unsatisfied with the results, some council members have asked staff to revisit the lighting scheme – related story.)
“It’s not a matter of if it gets hit again, it’s a matter of when it gets hit again,” said Councilman Charlie Rivenbark when the subject came up at a city budget retreat at the start of the week.
“But,” said Councilwoman Margaret Haynes, “you’re not going to cure stupid no matter what you do.”
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
