The State - News from Aug. 18, 1985

A $4.4-million out-of-court settlement has been reached in lawsuits resulting from the fiery Caldecott Tunnel crash that took seven lives near Orinda in 1982. In the accident, an AC Transit Bus, swerving to avoid a stalled car, smashed into a gasoline truck, which exploded in flames. Under terms of the settlement approved by a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge, heirs of six of the victims will divide $1.5 million, and Caltrans will receive $2.9 million for damage to the tunnel. AC Transit will pay $2.9 million, Armour Oil Co., operators of the truck, will pay $1 million and Clough Equipment, builders of the truck, will pay $500,000. A lawsuit by the widow of the seventh victim is still pending.