PHILADELPHIA – Walmart faces a wrongful death lawsuit over a shooting by one of its drivers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The Estate of Michael Alfonse sued Walmart in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and the company removed the case to federal court on June 1. The suit concerns a May 31, 2024, incident in which truck driver Ivan Hawkes allegedly killed Alfonse.
The complaint is light on details of the shooting but blames Walmart for failing to conduct an appropriate background check on Hawkes and failing to make sure Hawkes did not carry a firearm in his vehicle.
It also “failed to recognize decedent employee Ivan Hawkes’ warning signs of propensity to act out with regard to propensities of road rage,” the suit says.
Alfonse was a 40-year-old father of one who died days after the shooting. Hawkes took his own life the day after the altercation in Brecknock Township.
Among other allegations against Walmart is that it failed to investigate complaints of Hawkes’ “inappropriate operation” of his vehicle. The suit seeks compensation for Alfonse’s pain and mental anguish, including “conscious knowledge of his impending death.”
Thomas Sacchetta of Sacchetta & Baldino represents the plaintiff.
