Missouri judge finalizes settlement in wrongful death case involving Mission Hills man

A Missouri court has finalized a settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the adult children of a Missouri man killed last year in a car crash that the Missouri Highway Patrol says was caused by a Mission Hills man driving the wrong way.

According to court records in Johnson County, Missouri, a payment of $2.25 million was made on Jan. 9 by the insurer of Peter E. Goss, the Mission Hills man authorities say caused the deadly wrong-way crash several miles east of Lee's Summit, to the children of Kevin Wilson, the man killed in the collision.

The payment comes after Aaron Wilson, Kevin Wilson's son, filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Goss on Dec. 6, 2024.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, on Friday, Sept. 20, Goss, was driving the wrong way on U.S. Highway 50 near Highway Z, when his Chevrolet Suburban struck a Subaru Legacy driven by Kevin Wilson, 65, of Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Goss suffered serious injuries and was taken to Research Medical Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, according to the Highway Patrol's online crash report.

More than four months after the incident, Goss has yet to be charged with any crimes, according to Missouri court records.

The settlement closes the civil case

Under the agreement, Goss's insurer paid $2.25 million, which represents the applicable per person bodily injury insurance policy limits, in exchange for the settlement and release of Wilson's children's claims against Goss for causing their father's death.

The payments went toward Aaron and his sister, Olivia Wilson, who each received $843,750. The remaining $562,500 was used to pay attorneys' fees.

The two sides reached the settlement in December, according to Missouri court records. A court judge in Johnson County, Missouri, approved it on Jan. 7.

Attorneys representing Goss and Wilson could not be reached for comment.

Goss was arrested after the crash

In September, a Missouri State Highway Patrol arrest report at the time stated that Goss was placed under arrest just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21., on suspicion of driving while intoxicated involving the death of another person.

He was also held on suspicion of driving in the wrong direction of a divided highway, as well as careless and imprudent driving involving an accident, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report.

No other details about Goss's arrest were available in the online arrest record.

Goss was later released from custody to receive medical care at Research Medical Center.

Goss has filed suit over license being revoked

In October 2024, Goss filed his own civil lawsuit against the Missouri Director of Revenue over the revocation of his driver's license for one year.

In that civil suit, Goss argues among other things that he was improperly arrested and that the arresting highway patrol officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that Goss was driving while intoxicated.

Goss's suit also contends that he was uninformed that his license would be immediately revoked for one year upon his refusal to submit to a sobriety test following the crash and that he was uninformed that evidence of his refusal would be admissible against him in a court of law.

A crash in which a driver is intoxicated that leads to the death of another person is a felony in Missouri and can carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Goss's civil case against the Missouri Director of Revenue is scheduled for a hearing in Johnson County District Court in Missouri on Feb. 5.