A Roanoke man who crashed his Jeep through an apartment wall and trapped the resident in his bed has settled the lawsuit filed against him for $100,000.

About 2:30 a.m. on March 20, 2007, as Dean Blevins slept in his apartment in the 900 block of Brandon Avenue Southwest, Wesley D. Smith lost control of the 1995 Jeep Wrangler he was driving

The Jeep crossed several lanes of traffic, smashed through the wall of Blevins' apartment building and landed on top of Blevins' bed. Blevins was trapped for more than an hour while Roanoke firefighters worked to get him out.

"My client was quite traumatized from this," said Blevins' lawyer, John Edwards. "Had the car gone another foot or so it could well have killed him."

In September 2007, Smith pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and received a jail sentence of 12 months, with a mandatory minimum of 30 days to serve, and a $2,500 fine. Smith also had his driver's license revoked for three years.

Blevins sued Smith for a total of $850,000. After the two sides reached a settlement, a judge dismissed the suit. Blevins agreed to accept a $100,000 payment from Smith's insurance, Edwards said.

Smith made it a point to apologize to Blevins in person, lawyers said.

"Wes Smith just deeply regretted the circumstances of the accident," said William Wallace, Smith's lawyer. "He's an honorable guy."

-- Mike Allen