State Senate candidate Clovis Crane posted a campaign video Sunday, May 3, addressing a catastrophic day-time crash on Sept. 6, 2004, in Champaign County, Illinois, where then-24-year-old Crane fell asleep behind the wheel of a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer and crossed the median head-on into a van driven by the Link family of Burlington, Iowa.
In the van were nationally known parenting educators Joey and Carla Link, along with their 15-year-old daughter, Amy.
The Links have written about the accident that left their family forever changed on their website Parenting Made Practical.
Just 30 hours after the accident, Joey Link listened to a doctor explain why his wife had been put into a medical coma, how her neck had what was called a hangman’s fracture, and how the prognosis was that at best Carla might survive as a mental vegetable.
Their harrowing story, including a recovery against the odds – getting to see her children marry and have grandkids – are detailed in a five-page article by Joey on the Links’ website.
“It’s that hope that has carried us through the past 20 years with many complications, surgeries, and constant daily nerve pain that distracts us from the real purpose in life we believe God has called us to, ministering as parent educators to encourage, equip and empower parents to raise obedient, respectful and responsible children from a biblical perspective in today’s challenging world,” said Joey in the article that was also published in the 2019 book Trusting in God: Stories that Inspire.
In a statement to LebTown this week, the Links provided an update on their life.
“Today, Carla lives 100% wheelchair bound, but she has an amazing attitude seeking to enjoy her kids and grandkids and fulfill the purpose God created her life for,” they said.
Crane says he’s been held accountable
“In life, we all make mistakes,” said Crane in the Facebook video. “Some haunt us forever.”
Calling the accident a grave mistake, Crane said he carries regret every single day.
“There’s absolutely no excuse, and I’ve never tried to make one,” he said. “I personally reached out to the family. I apologized from the heart and took full responsibility through our shared Christian faith and without a court battle. We settled the matter privately.
“That’s accountability.”
Crane said he’s learned deeply from the many mistakes he’s made throughout his life.
“They’ve made me a more responsible man, more committed to fairness,” he said.
Crane ends the video showing a copy of a 2025 traffic citation for obedience to traffic control devices against his opponent, incumbent Chris Gebhard. Crane said that for “insiders” like Gebhard, “accountability just vanishes.”
2016 settlement followed court decisions in 2011 and 2014
Crane said in the video that he took full responsibility without a court battle through a private settlement. Yet the case did go through court – twice.
The Links filed a civil complaint against Crane on Aug. 1, 2005, in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois. On May 18, 2011, Judge Jeffrey B. Ford entered a judgment against Crane for $11,101,454.24. On March 14, 2013, the Illinois judgment was transferred to the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas.
(The Links were represented locally by Henry & Beaver attorney Chris Coyle, who began reporting for LebTown in 2019 after retiring from law. Coyle did not contribute to this article.)
In October 2013, the Links filed a new civil suit against Crane arguing that a Dec. 2, 2005, transfer of Crane’s property at 708 Greble Road, Bethel Township to his mother, Cathy Crane, for $1 resulted in “the transfer of substantially all the assets” of Crane’s that could satisfy the judgment was done “with the actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud” the Links’ effort to execute the judgment.
On Feb. 15, 2013, the property was transferred from Cathy Crane to Clovis and Joanna Crane in another $1 transaction. The Links argued that this transfer further showed Clovis Crane’s “intent to hinder, delay, or defraud” his creditors, namely the $11 million judgment.
In a judgment on Jan. 14, 2014, Lebanon County Judge Samuel A. Kline found that the Links had not made their claim regarding the first transfer within the applicable statute of limitations. Kline also examined the claim that the first transfer was fraudulent. In his opinion, he said the Cranes had argued the $1 transfer in 2005 was in repayment of approximately $805,000 that Clovis owed his mother. Kline said he could not rule on the intent of the parties at the current stage of the proceedings.
“Maybe Clovis Crane transferred the property to his mother because he owed her a large sum of money as argued by the Cranes. Maybe Clovis Crane transferred the property to avoid using the property to satisfy the Illinois judgement against him as argued by the Links,” said Kline in the opinion. “Based on the pleadings, the Court cannot come to a conclusion as to the parties’ intent.”
In a separate opinion on April 29, 2014, Kline dismissed claims that the second transfer should be voided, saying that the Links had not established Cathy Crane as their debtor. In the opinion Kline also said that arguments over a constructive trust had not been introduced properly and were therefore also dismissed.
The Links said that in 2016 Crane contacted them and asked them to accept $25,000 as a release from the full $11 million or he’d be forced file bankruptcy, telling them that was all the money he had.
The $25,000 settlement represents less than 1% of the $11 million judgment awarded in 2011.
“Since we had already forgiven him personally for the accident, we accepted his offer,” said the Links. “He said if he won the lottery, he would pay all $11M. We assume he has not won the lottery yet.”
Crane responds to LebTown, says real questions are about Gebhard campaign
LebTown contacted Crane for comment, asking how it was accurate to say the matter was settled without a court battle, given the facts above.
“There was a trial, and it was between two insurance companies trying to either avoid liability or squeeze every penny of profit they could out of a tragic situation,” said Crane. “The insurance companies were not representing the parties, operating in good faith, or seeking a just and realistic settlement. So the matter was settled outside of court with a compromise agreement. The court had a trial, issued a verdict, and then the judgment was settled outside of the court between the two parties.”
However, court documents show the trial was not between two insurance companies. It was between the Links and Crane. The Links’ insurers were not parties to the lawsuit; they held only liens against any money the Links recovered, which the carriers relinquished. At trial, Crane did not appear personally and his attorney presented no evidence. The only account of the crash from Crane came through a pre-trial deposition that the Links’ attorney introduced as an exhibit, in which Crane admitted he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
In his response to LebTown, Crane went on to say that “the real question is, why does my opponent feel the need to bring this up?”
The Gebhard campaign had not contacted LebTown about the crash or Crane’s social media video, and also did not respond to LebTown requests for comment about the video.
“This is so obviously a red herring to hide his liberal voting record,” Crane continued. “This race is about the issues facing Pennsylvanians today and the failures of the political class in Harrisburg, not personal incidents from decades ago that have long been resolved.”
LebTown noted that it hasn’t seen any ads from the Gebhard campaign about the crash. In an email followup, Crane’s campaign manager Fletcher Karper said the incident was mentioned in a video ad from a Gebhard-affiliated PAC, Win for Pennsylvania. LebTown has not been able to locate a copy of that advertisement as of publication.
LebTown also asked Crane to confirm that he told the Links that he would declare bankruptcy if the $25,000 settlement offer was not accepted.
“There was obviously no way to pay the judgment given by the court,” said Crane. “I wanted to pay the family something, and the courts forcing a bankruptcy would have prevented any kind of settlement. So I borrowed what I could to pay them something rather than nothing. Bankruptcy would have been the easy way out. We found an honest path to forgiveness and were able to move forward because of our shared Christian faith.”
Crane said that he still voluntarily sends the Links money from time to time as he is able. A request for comment by the Links on this claim had not received a response as of publication.
As he did with the first question, Crane ended his response by saying what he felt was the “real question.”
“The real question is, why does my opponent feel the need to bring this up?” said Crane. “This is so obviously a red herring to hide his liberal voting record,” he said repeating himself. “This race is about the issues facing Pennsylvanians today and the failures of the political class in Harrisburg, not personal incidents from decades ago that have long been resolved. It’s pretty disgraceful that a sitting state senator would sink this low.”
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