Jurors last Thursday handed down a 2.25 million verdict after finding a trucking company and one of its drivers responsible for the crash that killed a Virginia teacher.
The Virginia (7th Circuit) State Court jury’s verdict capped a six-day trial against USA Truck and its driver, Leonard Couplin, over the March 2023 crash that killed 17-year-old Keon Couch. The award includes $950,000 to each of Couch’s two siblings and $350,000 to Couch’s mother. Jurors declined to award punitive damage in the case.
The crash occurred after Couplin parked his big rig in the right lane of Jefferson Avenue in Newport News, Virginia, and entered a local fast-food restaurant. Couch’s family contends the defendants are responsible for the wreck by blocking the lane of travel and creating a deadly hazard.
At the time of the wreck, Couch was a passenger in a car driven by Carlos Palmer, then 16. As Palmer’s car approached the big rig, it struck two other vehicles before careening into the tractor-trailer, which was the collision that ultimately killed Couch.
Defendants concede the big rig was improperly parked, but contend it did not cause the wreck, turning much of the focus of the trial to causation. During Wednesday’s closings, Moran Reeves Conn’s Ashley Winsky, representing the defense, walked jurors through evidence she said showed that Palmer’s driving, rather then unattended big rig, actually caused the wreck.
Winsky reminded jurors that witnesses testified the tractor-trailer was visible, with its hazard lights flashing, immediately before the crash. On the other hand, she said Parker was speeding, tailgating, and made a blind lane change, which she said led to the wreck.
“Our argument is that the sole proximate cause… of this accident was Carlos Palmer’s reckless driving,” Winsky said. “He didn’t look. He just made a blind lane change when his whole view was blocked.”
But Fred Goldberg’s Joseph Fried, representing Couch’s family, pointed to evidence he said showed that the tractor-trailer’s improper stoppage caused the fatal wreck.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
