Family Awarded $90M: Family Of Ashley Davis Wins Wrongful Death Suit Against Prince George's County School Board

A Prince George’s County jury has awarded a $90 million wrongful death settlement to the family of a 13-year-old girl who was struck and killed during the walk to her bus stop in 2009.

On Sept. 1, 2009, 13-year-old Ashley Davis was walking to her bus stop when she was struck and killed by a Lincoln Continental in full view of her classmates, NBC Washington reports. The car also struck a 17-year-old boy.

The teenager, a freshman at Crossland High School, suffered devastating injuries in the accident, passing away two weeks later.

In their lawsuit against the Prince George’s County Board of Education, the Davis family alleged that their daughter was not provided with safe and adequate transportation. On Monday, a six-person jury awarded the family $90 million in damages, as well as medical and funeral expenses.

“The school board was negligent,” John Costello, the Davis family’s lawyer, told NBC Washington. “They had adopted a policy to provide for safe transportation. The policy was they were going to pick up Ashley on her own side of the street. They never did. They forced her to cross the street. She got killed crossing the street.”

Over four years later, the Davis family was awarded a measure of restitution.

“She was on her way,” her mother, Nycole Davis, told NBC Washington. “She was doing the right thing. She was going to school. She was a good girl. She didn’t deserve this.”

The Prince George’s County Public School system appears poised to appeal the court’s ruling. In a statement to NBC Washington, the district said: “No judgment has been entered in this case. It is still under litigation.”

NBC Washington notes that civil case settlements involving school systems are often capped at around $100,000, meaning that the Davis family’s $90 million win may not last for long.