Family settles lawsuit against city of Seattle for $13 million in case of deadly DUI crash in 2013

SEATTLE -- A family has settled a lawsuit against the city of Seattle for $13 million for a drunken-driving crash that nearly wiped out an entire family in 2013, the law firm representing the plaintiffs said Monday.

A repeat DUI driver on probation slammed into Dan Schulte's wife, Karina, their toddler son, Elias, and his parents, Dennis and Judy Schulte, as they were crossing the street in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood on March 25, 2013. Dan Shulte's parents were killed, and his wife and son suffered "devastating" and "disabling" injuries that require constant care, the law firm Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel said in a news release.

The driver was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison.

"At the time of the collision, the drunk driver Mark Mullan was under the probation supervision of the Seattle Municipal Court because of a previous drunk-driving conviction and was required to have an alcohol-sensor ignition lock in his pickup. But the sensor was never installed. The probation officer never followed up to see that Mullan installed the interlock. Mullan drove freely without a license and without an interlock, in violation of the terms of his probation," the firm said.

“The four people in my life who matter the most to me have been lost to death or deprived of a full life because of their catastrophic injuries,” said Dan Schulte. “It was an absolutely senseless, soul-crushing day that cannot be undone. We must protect our families and demand better from the City.”