Trucking Company Pays $5M Settlement To Crash Victim’s Family

The family of a Freehold woman who was killed in 2014 when her car was struck by a tractor trailer being driven by a man under the influence of methadone and Xanax has received a $5 million settlement. Heidi Bennett, 50, was waiting at a red light on the southbound side of Route 9 at Old Mill Road on March 31, when the tractor-trailer smashed into the back of her Honda, pushing the car through the intersection. Bennett’s car burst into flames and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The 52-year-old truck driver, Stephen Seidl, of Robbinsville, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in 2015, a month after a grand jury handed up a multi-count indictment in the crash, court records show.