A Texas jury recently ordered a college student to pay over $21 million in damages after finding him guilty of gross negligent for texting while driving and causing a fatal crash.  This is one of the largest verdicts ever obtained in a texting-while-driving case. (Small v. Vestal, No. 08-01-18000-CV (Tex., Robertson Co. Dist. Ct. Mar. 17, 2010).)

In 2007, Jason Reed Vestal was driving his pickup truck down Highway 6 near Calvert, Texas, when he crossed the center-line and hit an oncoming car head-on. The crash killed the other driver, 21-year-old Megan Small, a student at Baylor University. It also injured Small’s friend Laura Gleffe, who was driving behind her and was run off the road by Vestal’s truck.

The Plaintiff’s lawyer became suspicious when he deposed Vestal, who insisted that he did not have his phone with him when he was driving.  His phone records were subpoenaed and it was discovered that Vestal had made 7 phone calls and sent 15 text messages during the 45 minutes he was on the road. Some of the messages were sent and received moments before the crash.

No appeal was filed from the $792,500 jury verdict returned in Walker State Court last month for Clinton “Buck” Currie.  Buck was riding his motorcycle along Highway 341 just outside Chickamauga, GA two years ago, when a Buick Skylark suddenly turned left directly in front of him.  The car struck the motorcycle and Buck went flying through air.  Fortunately, he survived, but the impact with the car shattered his left ankle.  Buck did nothing wrong, but the injury dramatically affected his life.   Justice has now been served.