Jury Awards $89 Million In DUI Fatal Crash

Posted on November 06, 2017 in Uncategorized

Jury awards $89 million against drunken driver for fatal crash

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/25/2009

Franklin County — A jury has awarded $89 million in damages to the family of a man killed in a 2008 crash with a drunken driver, and to the man's fiancée and daughter.

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"The eye-popping numbers were the jury's attempt to send a message the only way they could," said attorney Mark Bronson, whose firm won the case Monday after a one-day trial in Franklin County Circuit Court.

He said Tuesday he doubts his clients will ever see a fraction of the money. But he said the jury's disgust with drunken driving was unmistakable.

Officials said that Troy Zerna, 20, at the time at the crash, was already driving on a hardship license after a previous DWI when he caused a head-on collision Feb. 2, 2008, on Highway 100 near Gray Summit.

Zerna's blood-alcohol level was 0.20 percent, 2 1/2 times the legal limit to drive, according to Missouri Highway Patrol testimony at the trial.

Dennis Riegel Jr., 28, of Washington, was killed in the crash. His fiancée, Christine Hodge, who was 13 weeks pregnant, was seriously hurt.

Hodge, now 24, has since had a daughter, Bailee. The couple had been returning from a shopping mall where they had registered for gifts for their upcoming wedding.

The jury awarded $53.5 million to Hodge and $35.5 million to the couple's daughter and Riegel's parents.

Five months before the crash, Zerna's was arrested and his license was suspended for his involvement in another DWI-related wreck, officials said.

Zerna has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison on DWI-related convictions involving both crashes.

"I think the jury was expressing its belief that the system is not working," Bronson said. "And they're sending a message that sentences need to be tougher and they need to be increased across the board."

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