Court: No Insurance Coverage in South Dakota Crash That Hurt 4 Boys

An insurance company does not have to cover a Rapid City woman for a crash because her auto policy expired 12 hours before she hit four boys on their bicycles, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled.

Tamara Bradford pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular battery for the September 2007 crash and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Authorities said her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit for driving when she hit and injured the boys, who were riding their bicycles or standing along the road.

Alpha Property and Casualty Insurance Co. declined coverage for the boys’ medical expenses.

The Supreme Court said Bradford’s insurance policy expired just after midnight on Sept. 23, 2007, about 12 hours before the crash, because she had failed to pay a premium due the day before the accident.

Robin Zephier, a Rapid City lawyer representing the boys, said he will talk with his clients about a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said Bradford has cooperated in the case in an attempt to get insurance coverage to help pay the boys’ medical expenses.

A lawyer for Alpha Property and Casualty did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Bradford’s policy had an expiration date of Sept. 23. The insurance company sent her a renewal notice in September saying her policy would expire at 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 23 if she did not make a payment.

Bradford had argued the insurance policy was ambiguous and she had until the day after the accident to pay the premium because the expiration date was a Sunday. The Supreme Court said the insurance documents clearly indicated the expiration date and that South Dakota law did not give Bradford an extra day to pay the premium.