Settlement in wrongful death suit filed against Dixon man, bars in the offing

DIXON – A settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against a Dixon man and three downtown bars is awaiting a judge’s sign-off.

On the advice of her attorney, Sharese Sneed, now of Dixon, has agreed to the $165,000 settlement offer.

She filed the lawsuit July 20 in Lee County court.

The lawsuit accuses Derrick L. Flynn, 40, as well as Tipsy, PatiO’s Irish Pub and Galena Trail Inc., which owns Drifters Saloon, of being responsible for the death of her son, Yishmael Q. Sneed, who died Sept. 24, 2022, after exiting a moving car.

If approved, $105,000, the policy limit, will come from Flynn’s insurance, while $60,000 will be paid by the three taverns, court records show.

Her petition for leave to settle the suit was filed Dec. 14. A status hearing with Judge Douglas Lee is set for Jan. 11.

Investigators have said Flynn and Yishmael Sneed were drinking at the bars and got into a fight about 1:30 a.m.

Yishmael Sneed died of blunt force injuries suffered when he exited the vehicle as Flynn was driving west in the 1200 block of Palmyra Road, Dixon police said.

All three bars served Flynn into the early-morning hours of Sept. 24, although he was “observably intoxicated,” and staff continued to serve him even though he had been served enough drinks that they “knew or should have known he was intoxicated,” according to the lawsuit.

Under the Illinois Liquor Control Act, also known as the Dram Shop Act, a provider of alcoholic beverages can be held liable for a person’s injuries or death caused by an intoxicated person if the alcohol that was sold or otherwise provided caused or contributed to the intoxication, and if the intoxication was the “proximate,” or primary, cause of the injuries or death.

In addition to being drunk, Flynn was driving too fast for conditions, failed to stay in his own lane and failed to make sure Yishmael Sneed was properly secured when he was thrown from the vehicle, according to the suit.

Sharese Sneed is represented by Deutschman & Skafish of Chicago.

Flynn is charged with aggravated battery and obstructing justice in connection with refusing a blood draw at the hospital to determine whether he was intoxicated, both felonies, as well as with driving under the influence and domestic battery, both misdemeanors.

Aggravated battery carries two to five years in prison, while obstructing justice carries one to four years.

Flynn was arrested that night, posted $20,000 on his $200,000 bond and was freed Sept. 29, 2022.

Flynn also was charged Aug. 23 after police said he again got into a fight in a moving vehicle, this time with a woman while he was her passenger.

Flynn is accused of beating her in the face with an aluminum bottle and hitting her with his hands as she was driving them from Rock Falls back to Dixon on Bloody Gulch Road.

He is charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, for “causing severe lacerations and various chipped or dislodged teeth,” and with aggravated battery in a public place – in this case, a public thoroughfare.

He faces two to five years on each count if convicted.

Bond was set at $300,000; he posted $30,000 and was freed Sept. 8.

He has a preliminary hearing Jan. 4 in both cases.

According to Lee County court records, he also has a 2010 conviction for aggravated battery after beating a man in the face with a pitcher Nov. 15, 2009, and a 2004 conviction for theft, both felonies.