Family Of Drunk Driving "Affluenza" Teen Pays $2 Million To Paralyzed Victim

Four people were killed and 12 people injured in the 2013 drunk driving accident.

By
Tasneem Nashrulla
by Tasneem Nashrulla

BuzzFeed News Reporter

The family of the Texas teen who killed four people and injured 12 others in a drunk driving accident last year, agreed to pay more than $2 million to the family of 16-year-old paralyzed victim Sergio E. Molina.

CNN / Via youtube.com

Molina landed on his head after being thrown out of the pickup truck driven by then-16-year-old Ethan Couch, who hit a stranded motorist, killing her and three others who had stopped to help her. Molina was paralyzed and has been in the hospital since the accident in June.

The case sparked national outrage after Ethan Couch's defense argued that the teen suffered from "affluenza" — a condition caused by the wealth of his parents giving him freedoms no young person would be able to handle.

AP Photo/KDFW-FOX 4

Couch did not get any jail time and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

Molina's parents sued the Couch family on behalf of their son, saying that because of his injuries he is unable to do anything except for smiling and blinking his eyes.

CNN / Via youtube.com

Couch's parents agreed to pay Molina's family more than $1 million in cash and the rest in two annuities to a trust established for Sergio. From July onward, they will make monthly payments of $1,515 and $1,837 to the trust, and another annuity to cover attorneys' fees, according to court documents.

While five other families of those injured or killed have settled with the Couches, the family of 13-year-old Lucas McConnell, who was injured, is seeking a jury trial.

AP Photo/LM Otero

Lucas McConnell, 13, wipes tears from his eyes after speaking to reporters on March 26 in Texas. The McConnells did not settle and will continue fighting Couch in court.

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