After Teen’s Death, Family Awarded $90M In Wrongful Death Suit

A Virginia family has been awarded $90 million in a wrongful death suit, four years after their teenage daughter was killed in a pedestrian car accident.

The jury award stems from a tragic incident in September of 2009, during which 13-year-old Ashley Davis was struck and killed by a Lincoln Continental while her classmates watched in horror.

After the vehicle hit Davis, it careened into another vehicle as well as a 17-year-old boy, who survived the accident. Ashley initially survived as well, but two weeks after the incident, she succumbed to her injuries and died at a local hospital.

Davis’ family was awarded the $90M this year, a bittersweet legal victory on what would be the year she graduated. Ashley was a freshman at Crossland High School in Prince George’s County when she died, and was slated to be a senior this year.

Local news sources report that after the accident for which the family was awarded $90M, the Davis family sued the Prince George’s County School Board for negligence leading to the girl’s death. John Costello, the Davis family lawyer, explained why:

“The school board was negligent … They had adopted a policy to provide for safe transportation. The policy was they were going to pick up Ashley on her own side of the street. They never did. They forced her to cross the street. She got killed crossing the street.”

Nycole Davis, Ashley’s mom, said of the accident that claimed her daughter’s life:

“She was on her way … She was doing the right thing. She was going to school. She was a good girl. She didn’t deserve this … If she didn’t have to cross the street … she’d be graduating this year. She’d be going to prom this year.”

While the family was awarded $90M, Davis explains that the suit was, for Ashley’s family members, not about money:

“I didn’t ask anyone to give me any money or anything like that. I just want someone held responsible for what happened to my daughter.”