SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man who has been an entertainer in the Ozarks area for decades is suing a California trucking company for the wrongful death of his wife.

Spangle The Clown — formerly Ronald Poindexter before legally changing his name after the 2001 World Trade Center attack — is suing California-based LALA Trucking and one of its truck drivers for wrongful death.

Gloria Grimsley, also known by her clown name Daisy Mae, was killed in a collision in March of 2022. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, troopers responded to a collision involving a 2000 Pontiac Montana van that Grimsley was driving.

Grimsley was driving on U.S. Highway 65 five miles north of Springfield around 5:15 a.m. on March 23, 2022. An investigation showed that a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia tractor-trailer unit pulled into the path of Grimsley’s van.

Grimsley was pronounced dead at Springfield’s Mercy Hospital at 8:27 a.m. She was 65.

The Freightliner was being operated by Baljinder Singh, 28, of South Richmond Hill, California.

On Dec. 20, the lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Missouri in Springfield. Spangle The Clown initially filed the lawsuit with Greene County on Oct. 19.

Spangle The Clown is claiming that Singh negligently operated the tractor-trailer unit and caused the death of Grimsley. He is also claiming that LALA Trucking is liable for employing Singh. The lawsuit states that Singh failed to look out for other vehicles, was driving too fast and failed to yield the right-of-way.

Spangle The Clown is asking for $750,000, according to the court documents.