Wikimedia Commons / Brian Turner
The family of Taylor McCowan, a San Antonio nursing student, filed a wrongful death suit after she was struck by a man convicted of driving drunk.
The verdict in the wrongful death suit, awarded April 29, is the largest for mental anguish in U.S. history, according to Markland LLP, the law firm representing McCowan's family.
“Although this verdict does nothing to bring her back, we are now able to properly memorialize Taylor’s contributions as a citizen of the world and continue her mission,” mother Raquel Hatch said in a statement.
Recent UTSA grad McCowan, 23, was driving home from Bible study in January 2020 when she was struck head-on by Jonathan Paul Jones, then a deputy U.S. Marshal, according an earlier report by KSAT-TV. Jones was driving the wrong way on Loop 1604 and had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, according to a statement by Markland.
Jones didn't render aid to McCowan following the collision, according to the Markland statement. Instead, McCowan was trapped in her car for 40 minutes until eventually being freed and flown to University Hospital via Life Flight.
McCowan died two weeks later from her injuries, according to KSAT.
Jones was sentenced in April 2023 to 11 and a half years in prison for manslaughter, the TV station reports. He will be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence.
“The jury accepted its responsibility to not only compensate this growing family but also to send a message to Texas drivers who choose to drive home drunk instead of calling a cab or Uber,” Clive Markland of Markland LLP said in a statement. “Mr. Jones, a commissioned federal peace officer at the time, had a duty to protect citizens like Taylor McCowen but instead chose to put the lives of San Antonio drivers at risk.”
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