NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - An Orleans Parish jury on Monday (Nov. 7) awarded $51 million in damages to the family of a young woman killed six years ago in a speeding Lamborghini crashed by an impaired driver.
The verdict against that driver -- Jason Adams -- concluded a four-day lawsuit trial before Civil District Court Judge Ethel Julien.
The jury found Adams, 36, solely responsible for the crash that claimed the life of his 23-year-old passenger Kristi Lirette on May 4, 2016. New Orleans police said Adams had a blood alcohol concentration of .11 -- over the state’s legal limit of .08 -- and was pushing a 2015 Lamborghini Huracan to speeds as high as 118 mph along Tchoupitoulas Street before losing control and striking a flood wall.
Lirette died in the violent wreck. Adams, then 30, was injured but survived.
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Adams ultimately pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of vehicular homicide. He wound up serving only nine months in state prison from a 10-year sentence. Five years of his sentence were suspended by Criminal District Court Judge Robin Pittman.
The civil jury’s verdict on Monday awarded $12 million each to Lirette’s parents Brett Lirette and Diana King. It awarded $2 million to the victim’s survivors for Kristi Lirette’s pre-death fear, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. And the jury ordered Adams to pay an additional $25 million in punitive damages.
James Peltier, an attorney for Lirette’s family, told Fox 8 that his clients were glad the jury sent a strong message against driving drunk.
Peltier acknowledged Adams could appeal the verdict and Lirette’s family could have trouble collecting the full judgment against him. But the family believes Adams still has assets he could be made to surrender, despite the fact he filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 28, three days before the civil trial began.
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