14-Year-Old Killed at Norfolk Crosswalk on Eve of High School: $4,007,478 Verdict
Won by Rutter Mills, LLP.
A Norfolk jury awarded $4,007,478 after a 14-year-old riding a scooter through a marked crosswalk was struck and killed by a driver who later admitted liability, leaving the trial focused solely on damages.
What happened
On the evening before his first day of high school, a 14-year-old Norfolk boy headed to a nearby convenience store with friends to pick up snacks for the next morning. He was riding a scooter home when he entered a marked, designated crosswalk near a public recreation park. A driver in his 20s traveling too fast for the residential street struck the boy in the crosswalk during daylight hours. The impact dragged the teenager approximately 100 feet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy was described by those who knew him as an excellent athlete who loved basketball, football, and fishing with his family. He had talked about serving in the military one day.
The driver admitted liability before trial, converting the Norfolk Circuit Court proceeding into a damages-only jury trial. Judge Junius P. Fulton III presided. Adam Lotkin of Rutter Mills represented the estate.
The trial lasted one day. Counsel presented evidence of the family's loss: a son with a full life ahead, killed at a crosswalk steps from home on the night before a milestone. The jury returned a verdict of $4,007,478, comprising $7,478 in special damages for funeral expenses and $4,000,000 in general damages.
The verdict was entered April 19, 2021. No appellate reduction has been reported.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.