Jury awards parents $27 million in College Station McDonald's negligence lawsuit [View all]

[TexasTowelie]

A Brazos County jury awarded a $27 million verdict Wednesday in a negligence lawsuit against McDonald’s filed by the parents of two Blinn College students who died in 2012.

The parents of Denton James Ward, 18, of Flower Mound, and Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs were suing McDonald’s on claims the fast-food corporation’s lack of security led to the death of their children, both of whom were pronounced dead shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2012, after they were in a car accident after leaving the University Drive McDonald’s.

When the accident occurred, Crisp and Ward, along with Tanner Giesen, 19, were being driven in Ward’s vehicle by their friend, Samantha Bean, 20, who was attempting to get Ward and Giesen to the hospital after they’d been severely beaten by a group of men at the McDonald’s across from Texas A&M, according to testimony.

The vehicle was struck by another vehicle when Bean, who had been drinking but was never criminally charged, ran a red light at Holleman Drive.

More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/jury-awards-parents-million-in-mcdonald-s-negligence-lawsuit/article_df73eb82-1827-11e4-ad0c-001a4bcf887a.html .

BRYAN – A Brazos County jury awarded a $27 million verdict in a civil lawsuit against McDonald’s following the 2012 deaths of two Blinn College students.

Denton James Ward, 18, of Flower Mound, and Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs were killed when they ran a red light at Texas and Holleman Drive. They were on their way to the hospital after being beaten by a mob at the McDonald’s on University Drive.

Their parents claim the deaths could have been avoided if McDonald’s had hired security guards to prevent the fights that had happened regularly over the past year.

“We hope this verdict sends a powerful message to McDonald’s and other companies that protecting customers is more important than late-night revenue,” says attorney Chris Hamilton. “The night these two kids died, this was a dangerous location, and McDonald’s knew it. Yet they did nothing to prevent their senseless deaths.”

Additional reporting at http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Jury-Awards-27-Million-In-McDonalds-Lawsuit-Over-Teens-Deaths-269278801.html .