By Matt Ward
The lone survivor from a 2011 house fire that killed four people is being sued by her former husband and his parents, according to a civil complaint obtained by the Pahrump Valley Times.
Sharon Broadhead, who lost three young children and her girlfriend when her Pahrump home burned on Feb. 9, 2011, is named alongside three other defendants.
Anthony Broadhead and his parents Trudi and Chad Broadhead, known best for their ownership of the Pahrump Speedway, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sharon Michelle Field, Sharon Broadhead’s maiden name, as well as Jennie Wheeler, Charles Wheeler and Access Realty LLC.
The Wheelers are the owners of the Prospector Lane home that burned two years ago. Sharon was renting the home at the time and lived there with her children. Access Realty was the Wheelers’ property manager.
Sharon says the lawsuit has no merit and is merely an attempt by her ex-husband and his family to cash in on a terrible tragedy, and punish her as well.
“I was quite angry and hurt. I couldn’t believe that they would hit me below the belt like this,” she said. “With Anthony already moving on, getting remarried and having a child, you know, I left them alone, they should leave me alone.”
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 24 in Clark County District Court, just about two weeks before the statute of limitation for such a suit would have likely expired.
According to the lawsuit, Anthony is suing on behalf of the estates of Elliott and Zachary Broadhead, the two boys he had with Sharon during their marriage, which ended before the fire. A central claim in the lawsuit is that Sharon and her girlfriend, Crystal Smiley, had ingested painkillers and methamphetamine in the hours leading up to the fire. That claim may be hard to prove since police and a medical examiner found no illegal drugs in Sharon or Crystal’s system after the fire. Also, the lawsuit claims the home had two roofs, one of which was burned away by the fire, while the second one trapped smoke and carbon monoxide in the home, causing “heat and carbon monoxide levels from the fire to build up rapidly.”
“The second roof hindered the fire from venting through the roof and accelerated the spread of smoke and hot gasses through the home,” the civil complaint reads.
The plaintiffs are suing for multiple causes of action, including negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
Calls to Chad and Trudi Broadhead were not returned by press time. A phone number for Anthony Broadhead was unavailable. The family’s Las Vegas attorney, Zoe Terry, who filed the lawsuit, did not return a phone call to her office.
Sharon, meanwhile, says she doesn’t understand why she is being sued, particularly so close to the second anniversary of the deaths of her children.
“It triggers vivid memories. It triggers all the guilt of being a survivor. It triggers the memory of getting arrested just days after my sons perished,” she said.
The complaint is seeking thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and attorney’s fees. Sharon says she can’t even afford an attorney much less pay any damages.
“I’m tired of holding my head down. It’s about time I held my head high. I’ve dealt with this. It’ll be two years this Saturday. To hit me, to file on the 23rd (of January) and to serve me this last Saturday really was a way to knock me down really hard again. It’s nothing more than a way to make me replay everything again in my head,” she said about the lawsuit.
At one point she asked why all the donations given to her and Anthony weren’t enough for her former in-laws and former husband. She said Anthony received half of the charitable contributions when her children perished, and even used a Red Cross debit card, according to Sharon, to buy a new washer and dryer and bedroom suit for himself though he lost no personal possessions in the house fire.
“I am going to fight this. I think it is extremely wrong. This is something that I don’t know who came up with it. Somebody put this in their head to do this. They said they were going to leave me alone. This isn’t leaving me alone. This is torturing me. Were the donations not enough?” she asked.
Chad Broadhead recently told this newspaper’s sports section that he was struggling to keep the family’s speedway afloat financially. Sharon said she wondered if her former in-laws and husband think the lawsuit will help them keep it open.
“I believe this is about money, about greed and to see how much more they can put me through,” she said.
Sharon says she plans to respond to the suit within the next three weeks.
What some truly worthless wastes of oxygen to use the deaths of children to profit financially!
Bravo to the Broadhead Family for doing what Nye County failed to do! I am a mother of three and I never slept while my children were awake. She was the adult in charge of these innocent children and is responsible for what happened to them. Every mother I have spoken with said they would have died trying to get their children out of that house. What kind of message are we sending to the parents in Nye County? That it is ok to neglect your children and even let them die because you will only get a “slap on the hand” and 200 hours of Community Service? Who in the world is looking out for these children? She is lucky she wasn’t living in Clark County because the parents of the three children killed in a LasVegas mobile home fire in June were indicted on three counts each of second-degree murder, child abuse and neglect. No my dear, the Broadhead’s aren’t “about the money” as you put it, they are about getting justice for their innocent children and grandchildren that suffered a horrible death that should have never happened.
you dont know nothing ive bee through BUT here you are to judge me when in fact you dont know anything think what you want TRUTH is all you wanna do is run your mouth
i knew crystal she told me she worried about the kids safty with you and thats why she stayed this was just days before, there dead and you have had a bad time!!!!! i had a fire i stayed got all my kids out do pahrump a favor go run away your good at it REST IN PEACE BOYS AND CRYSTAL GOD HAS THE BEST WITH HIM .
you can shut up you dont know nonthing at all she was worried anthony was going to hurt me like always and you sure didnt know what we talked about everyday i really dont give a sh** what you wanna say truly i know i tried my best to save everyone you werent their and you wasnt trapped away from your kids and i didnt run away and im so sick of people like you judging and acting like you know everything your just a lyer like the rest that want to jump to conclusions
She is struggling to make ends meet?? Looking at her picture. She has her nails done, and her hair done blond. That cost money. I don’t think food stamps pays for that. Just saying.
mom of 3 as you can see my hair has grown out and i dont get my nails done! you act like your better then me and you dont know half of what ive been through
When I first had my daughter money was really tight. But my family gave me a little money to get my hair done. Every girl knows that just getting your hair done can make you feel better in a small way.
I didn’t say she shouldn’t have paid for what she precipitated. That is the district attorney’s fault if they failed to prosecute. Suing a person who has nothing is frivolous, to say the least, and it will neither bring justice nor bring those poor children back. It will only serve to tie up the courts when so many people need to access the system. If it isn’t money driven then it is only serving to keep the pain alive in the father and grandparents and they will never move forward.
Wow people are so unkind. Sharon my nieces and nephews burned in a fire the day after Christmas 1996. My sister went through hell as she was able to get her 9 yr old and 3 month old out a window, while the others were sleeping on the couches in the living room and the Xmas tree caught on fire. She jumped out the window broke the sliding glass door and tried to get in but the smoke was overwhelming 4 children died that day, Ashley 8, Amy 7, Brandon 5, Casey 3, she went through hell like Sharon even had to move to another state. Please people she didn’t start the fire or walkaway to see her children die or Smiley, the pictures tell all.
My sympathy to you and your family for what was a tragic accident. Your sister sounds like a very brave and wonderful mother. The difference here is that in your sister’s case it was an accident. If you read the article, it states that they think the fire was caused by one of the children playing with a lighter. What responsible parent leaves a lighter or matches where young children can find them? It’s as bad a leaving a loaded gun laying around. Accidents are tragic and uncontrollable, neglect is a different story.
Mom of 3 you say you have children? You should know that they get into everything. I do not smoke and I don’t carry matches or lighters. I do not know Broadhead but I have a daughter that is not even 2 and she is into everything. She has opened doors and found her fathers lighter. I am not saying that Broadhead was in the right to be in her room when her kids were up. But I know it only takes a second for a kid to find things. This is a tragic story and I feel for that mother. She panicked she didn’t know what to do. I think this is a good story to remind us all to have a fire plan and to practice it. I have mine and I know how to get in and out of my house. I have my fire proof box with all the important information right next to my bed. I know how I’ll get myself and my child out of this rental home if ever need be.
kimd342 im very sorry for your loss it is a pain that will always be in a mothers heart its hard knowing i cant hold them but go were they are layed to rest. i have found out alot about this town and alot of people like to run their mouths and say untrue things my boys never set fire to the house even if the paper says it, its not true i know in my heart something went worng in the house was on fire god needed the best and he took them nasty people will always say something even when they have no place. and thank you for the kind words
First mother of 3 what they said about my sister is the tree must have been to dry and she neglected to take it down, so again they tried the neglect charge. Also why were the children on the couches and not in there beds. It was wrong for them to have a night with toys and popcorn and movies and her not being in room when they fell asleep. I heard it all!!!! Sharon you have still 2 beautiful girls that need there mom and babies in heaven and a great friend waiting in heaven for when it is your time. The fire here could have been anything. Yes fire marshals came to a suspected conclusion but only by words said, not evidence. God only knows why he wanted those boys that day, as he did my sisters kids. Life will never be the same, but money wont stop the pain. So i feel this town and the Broadheads are wrong with this lawsuit.
You have been in my thoughts, Sharon. There are no words, no heaviness of heart, or tears shed that can lighten the burden you carry; but if there were, I would eagerly heft my share. We all walk a tightrope everyday; where a thoughtless or careless or seemingly inconsequential decision can cause us or those around us unimaginable consequences. Please know that the majority of us, when we look at you, KNOW that ‘there, but the grace of God, go I’. Not in judgement, but in relief and gratitude, because we know how easily it could have been us. I admire your strength and fortitude, and wish you the best.
Signed, The Imperfect Majority
This paragraph right here sums up all that is wrong with this country.
Sorry, there is a time for judgement, there is a time for blame for careless or thoughtless behavior, and she wont get a drop or sympathy ffrom me. Why? Because if those were my kids they would still be alive, because I am not living a crazy out of control reckless lifestyle.
It is difficult to accept the judgement of someone who believes that our country would be better off if there were more savages willing to ‘kick em while they’re down’, and less compassion and kindness…
Compassion doesn’t demand perfection, and the things you have written say far more about you than they say about her.
I hope that life never shatters your illusions of yourself, but if it does, I fervently hope that you are met with love and compassion and not judgement and recrimination.
This is called SIN OF PRESUMPTION Presuming things our way without taking the trouble to find out exactly what the situation really is. Little patience can drastically reduce major lifelong mistakes. Who Are You misjudging right now?. Don’t think what you think others are thinking. Take time to get the whole truth.