$9.5M settlement; Fleeing driver runs stop sign, kills elderly woman

Action: Wrongful death

Injuries alleged: Death

Case name: Withheld

Amount: $9.5 million

Date: Dec. 3, 2025

Attorneys: Thomas Schiro and Meredith Hinton of Ricci Law Firm, and David Stradley and Ann Oschsner of White & Stradley, all in Raleigh (for the plaintiff)

On December 30, 2022, defendant driver, operating a private passenger vehicle, ran a stop sign while fleeing from law enforcement and crashed into an 84-year old woman, killing her instantly. The decedent’s estate sued the driver and the owner of the motor vehicle, alleging that the owner negligently entrusted the vehicle to the driver, whose license had been suspended for multiple DWI charges. The owner claimed not to know the driver’s driving privileges were suspended. A disputed fact in the case was whether the driver physically possessed a driver’s license when the owner gave the driver the vehicle. The decedent was survived by her three living children and numerous grandchildren.