HOUSTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Texas man has sued a private British security firm for causing the death of his son, a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq.
The lawsuit against Erinys, a British firm with ties to controversial Iraqi leader Ahmed Chalabi, claims that Spc. Christopher Monroe was hit by a vehicle driving at 80 mph, The Guardian reported. Lawyer Tobias Cole said that the Erinys convoy was in conditions that did not require evasive tactics or high speed and that its drivers had been warned of U.S. soldiers ahead.
"The family just didn't have the answers that they were seeking," Cole said. "For example, why did their son die on a non-combat mission? There was no reason to have extreme driving, no reason to drive without headlights, no reason to drive at speed through a parked convoy."
Erinys had been hired to guard oil installations in Iraq. At the time that Monroe was killed its employees were providing security for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
