In April 2007 Angela Stone lost her daughter to a drunk driver. Christopher Marcone, 27-years-old, is serving a 13-year prison sentence after he plead to DUI manslaughter and three other related counts. Yesterday the mother of the 13-year-old girl who lost her life received a $330 million jury verdict in a civil case brought against the DUI driver that killed her daughter according to a report on the website TampaBay.com. Six jurors took less than 60 minutes to rule Marcone should pay Stone $275 million in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages.
According to the article Stone and her lawyer filed the suit to send a message to those motorists who drive drunk and also to the automaker they have sued in Hillsborough County. Marcone had a blood-alcohol level of .207 that fateful night but Stone and her attorney don’t expect to receive any money from the man. They do also have a wrongful death suit pending against Kia Motors Corp. and a Tampa auto dealer claiming that the restraints in the car her daughter was in contributed to her death. Stone’s lawyer is expecting they will see more than this award from Kia Motors and the company will be able to pay.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourTampaDUI.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Darren via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.