Family of Fairfield tow truck driver killed in Trumbull crash settles lawsuit with driver for $1.5M [The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.]

May 14—BRIDGEPORT — A Weston man, serving prison time for crashing into and killing a Fairfield tow truck operator on the Merritt Parkway in Trumbull, has agreed to pay the operator's family a $1.5 million settlement.

Dean Robert, 49, was sentenced in June 2022 to four years in prison after pleading guilty in Superior Court to second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, driving under the influence and failure to move over for an emergency worker for the April 22, 2020, death of 58-year-old Corey Iodice.

Robert is currently incarcerated with a maximum release date of Sept. 1, 2026, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Robert's lawyer, Lindy Urso, declined comment on the settlement.

Robert Rimmer, lawyer for the Iodice Family, also declined comment.

Iodice, an employee of Iodice Family Transport in Fairfield, was in the process of loading a disabled Mercedes Benz onto the flatbed of his tow truck on the southbound side shoulder of the parkway north of Exit 47 when he was struck by a BMW sedan driven at more than 90 miles an hour by Robert, according to police.

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Police said Robert was found to have a blood alcohol content of .099. A person is considered intoxicated if their blood alcohol content is .08 or higher.

In July 2020, the Iodice Family filed a lawsuit against Robert in Superior Court here seeking unspecified monetary damages.

"The defendant violated (state law) in traveling faster than was reasonable and prudent, weaving in an out of traffic in the high performance BMW M3 and that as a local Weston resident knew the traffic pattern would be heavier at 4:36 p.m. as other motorists were returning home from work," the lawsuit states. "Moreover, the defendant operated the BMW M3 so fast that he drove the BMW M3 up into the bed of the stopped tow truck, struck the decedent, flipped the BMW M3 and careened off into the shoulder."

Under the terms of the settlement, granted by Judge William Clark on May 1, Robert agrees to pay the Iodice family $1.5 million with his insurance company paying $100,000 of that settlement.

If Robert does not pay the settlement amount he will be immediately liable to the family at $250 a day.

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