MADISON, Wis. -- Five and a half years after a van carrying 14 young magazine subscription salespeople crashed, killing seven and injuring five others, the victims and their families reached a financial settlement.

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The $1.8 million settlement to be split among 12 families and the state is getting a mixed reaction. A father of one of the girls killed said he feels like a victim all over again. However, some of the surviving victims said they feel relief that the legal battle is over.

Monica Forgues, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down in the crash, told News 3 that she's just glad it's over.

"It's been ongoing for 5-and-a-half years, she said. "I'm 20 now. I just want to live my life normal. I'm glad it's finally over so I can move on with my life and not have to worry about anything."

The settlement includes a $500,000 reimbursement to the state to cover Forgues' past medical expenses, but the state will continue to cover those expenses for Forgues in the future.

She was 15 when she began traveling magazine sales. But life as she knew it came to a screeching halt in March 1999.

Rescue workers called the van crash scene "horrific," with "bodies just strewn across the highway." Some of the injuries were so severe, even with a picture driver's license, they couldn't identify the individuals. The crash remains among Wisconsin's worst ever.

The victims, ages 15 to 25, were riding in a van, driven by Jeremy Holmes, traveling at over 80 mph that lost control on I-90 north of Janesville. Holmes was an employee of magazine seller Youth Employment Services or "YES," owned by Subscriptions Plus.

Holmes was attempting to switch positions with a passenger while driving the vehicle. He was sentenced to seven years in prison -- one year for each death -- but wound up serving only a little more than four.

Choan Lane, YES manager, was convicted of interfering with the custody of a child and spent 3-and-a-half years in prison.

Both are out of prison today, and now the civil case is settled.

"There is absolutely no way these folks are ever going to receive a fair compensation, but we stuck with them," said attorney Victor Arellan of Lawton and Cates, who represents Forgues. "We're proud, and we're happy that we did."

But not everyone is happy with the $1.8 settlement. Two families told News 3 they believe it's "a total failure."

Phil Ellenbecker, of McFarland, whose 18-year-old daughter Malinda, was killed, told News 3 he and another mother who lost a child are "ashamed and embarrassed" to discuss the final settlement.

Ellenbecker is now an advocate trying to educate the public about how dangerous traveling magazine sales crews can be -- for workers and for customers. ( Read Full Story )

"I've gotten nothing out of this, in fact. When my daughter died I was a victim, and this entire process has made me a victim all over again," Ellenbecker said. "The legal system has made me a victim."

The father is using grief as fuel to pursue justice for his daughter and those he believes were responsible, but Ellenbecker said after five years, he and another woman who lost her son believe the lawsuit settlement does neither.

"There are three memories in my life I wish I didn't have," Ellenbecker said. "The first memory was when I buried my daughter. The second memory was when I told my 8-year-old son that Malinda died, and the third is having to sign those papers."

Ellenbecker said he and Pam Christman, who lost her son, only signed the settlement papers because lawyers told them it was their only choice -- and that if they didn't, it would go to arbitration for less money.

Lawyers said they couldn't go to court because it wasn't clear whether the defendants insurance companies would have to pay.

"Still there was a question if we went to trial as to whether or not there was insurance coverage at all, so you could have went to trial and win against individual parties and not been able to collect," attorney Arellona said.

Lawyers call the settlement significant while recognizing its limits.

They blame lax state trade laws for not being able to secure more money.

Ellenbecker says his money basically covers only his daughter's burial and headstone and pyschiatric bills for his son after the crash.

Still the father intends to finish what he started. He wants to shut down an industry he says preys on young people.

"That's what we need and if we don't get that, history's going to repeat itself," he said.

Ellenbecker and others hope state lawmakers pass a proposal to tighten regulations on door to door sales crews.

Meanwhile, he says taxpayers, young people and homeowners will pay the price of lax regulation.

He said there have been 20 magazine sales crew member deaths in the United States since Wisconsin's horrific van crash -- and over 90 felony crimes have been committed, including rape and murder, mostly against homeowners.