TOMMY McCORMICK v. MITCHELL ZUINGA

Let’s cut straight to the chase: a man got hit by a car while driving on a two-lane highway, the driver crossed the centerline like he was auditioning for Fast & Furious: Rural Edition, got cited by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and now the guy who got plowed into is suing for $75,000. And no, this isn’t some high-speed pile-up involving semi-trucks and flaming wreckage—this is Highway 9 near Pittsburg, Oklahoma, where the biggest danger is usually deer, potholes, and the occasional rogue tumbleweed with dreams of litigation. But here we are.

Meet Tommy McCormick, a Stigler resident who, on September 22, 2024, decided the safest place to be was inside his car, traveling eastbound on Highway 9. Nothing suspicious. No reckless maneuvers. No sudden swerves. Just a regular guy doing a regular drive, probably listening to classic rock or debating whether to stop at the next convenience store for beef jerky. On the other side of the road, heading west, was Mitchell Zuingga of McAlester—same county, different luck. According to the petition, Zuingga wasn’t content with staying in his lane. No, sir. He allegedly veered across that sacred yellow line—the one that exists solely to prevent exactly this kind of nonsense—and slammed head-on into McCormick’s vehicle.

Now, if you're wondering whether this is one of those “he said, she said” fender-bender situations where both sides blame each other, let’s clarify: the Oklahoma Highway Patrol showed up and cited Zuingga. That’s not a suggestion. That’s the state saying, “Mitchell, buddy, you messed up.” And while citations aren’t automatic proof of fault in civil court (we’re entertainers, not lawyers, but even we know that), it sure doesn’t help your case when the cops hand you a ticket for failing to maintain your lane while operating a motor vehicle—something most 16-year-olds manage during their first driving test.

So what happened next? Well, Tommy McCormick didn’t walk away unscathed. The filing says he suffered “bodily injury,” which is legalese for “he got hurt.” We don’t know if it was broken bones, whiplash, or emotional trauma from realizing someone thought it was okay to drift into oncoming traffic like they were in a romantic comedy montage. But whatever the injuries, they were serious enough to rack up medical bills, cause pain and suffering (past, present, and possibly future), and maybe even cost him some wages if he had to take time off work. And now, nearly a year later, he’s back in that same courtroom—not to reenact the crash with toy cars, but to ask for $75,000 to cover it all.

But here’s where it gets juicier than a peach at a county fair. Mitchell Zuingga might not have enough insurance. Or any. The petition alleges he’s “underinsured if not uninsured,” which is insurance-speak for “don’t count on him paying out of pocket.” So who’s the second defendant? Shelter Insurance Company—not because they insured Zuingga, but because they insured Tommy McCormick. Yep, this is a classic underinsured motorist claim, which sounds like something out of a law school final but is actually pretty straightforward: when the person who hits you doesn’t have enough (or any) insurance, your own insurer is supposed to step in and cover the gap—up to your policy limits.

Only, according to Tommy, Shelter Insurance hasn’t done that. He says he applied for benefits, asked nicely, and then asked again—this time through his lawyer—and still got nothing. So now he’s dragging his own insurance company into court, not for failing to fix his car, but for failing to fix him. Medical bills, pain, lost income—the whole post-crash nightmare. And he wants $75,000 to make it right.

Now, is $75,000 a lot for a car accident? Well, let’s put it in perspective. It’s not Transformers-level damage. It’s not even “I lost a limb and need a lifetime of care” territory—at least, not based on what’s in the filing. But it’s also not chump change. That’s a down payment on a house in some parts of Oklahoma. It’s five years of full-time work at minimum wage. It’s 7,500 Big Macs (with fries). For a guy who was just minding his business on a state highway, only to get T-boned by a lane-drifting driver, it’s not an unreasonable ask—especially if the injuries required surgery, physical therapy, or ongoing treatment. And let’s not forget: this number includes future damages. So if Tommy’s back still hurts every time it rains, or he can’t lift heavy boxes anymore, that’s part of the math.

What’s wild here isn’t just that someone crossed the centerline—it’s how routine this kind of thing is. Highway 9 isn’t exactly the Autobahn. It’s a two-lane road through eastern Oklahoma where the speed limit is 65 and the biggest hazard is usually a slow-moving tractor. Yet here we are, with a driver so distracted, drowsy, or just plain careless that he veered into oncoming traffic and caused a collision serious enough to generate a lawsuit, a jury trial demand, and a paper trail longer than a CVS receipt. And while Mitchell Zuingga may have already paid a price in the form of a citation, that’s just the appetizer. The main course? A civil lawsuit where the plaintiff claims he was “without fault”—a phrase that, in legal terms, is the equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet.

And then there’s Shelter Insurance. You’ve got to feel a little bad for them. They’re not the bad guy—they’re the other guy. They insured Tommy, they presumably collected his premiums on time, and now they’re being sued by their own customer because the actual bad driver didn’t have enough coverage. It’s like being mad at your umbrella for not being big enough when you’re already soaked. But hey, that’s how underinsured motorist claims work. You pay extra for that coverage so you’re not left holding the bag when someone like Mitchell Zuingga—cited, possibly underinsured, and definitely not a defensive driving instructor—decides the centerline is more of a suggestion than a rule.

So where do we stand? We’ve got a man who got hit, a driver who messed up, and an insurance company caught in the middle. Tommy wants $75,000, a jury trial, and probably a good night’s sleep without neck pain. Mitchell probably wishes he’d just stayed in his lane. And Shelter Insurance? They’re likely reviewing their internal processes and muttering about “claim thresholds” and “reserves.”

Our take? The most absurd part isn’t the lawsuit. It’s that any of this surprises us. People cross centerlines all the time—on phones, asleep, or just not paying attention. But when it results in a collision, a citation, and now a $75,000 demand, it’s a reminder that driving isn’t just a right—it’s a responsibility. And if you can’t handle staying in your lane on a straight stretch of Highway 9, maybe you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

We’re rooting for Tommy. Not because he’s perfect (we don’t know that), but because he was reportedly just driving his car, obeying the rules, and got blindsided—literally—by someone else’s mistake. And if Shelter Insurance has to pay up because their policyholder was underinsured? That’s why we have underinsured motorist coverage. It’s not a loophole. It’s the backup plan for when the real world—like Mitchell Zuingga—fails to stay in its lane.