TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A jury in the state Capitol has awarded $30.8 million to the family of Jackie Faircloth following a weeklong trial.
A November 2014 drunk driving hit-and-run crash left Faircloth permanently disabled.
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Devon Dwyer, a suspected drunk driver, allegedly hit and severely injured the then-teenager from Tampa -- who was visiting her brother, a freshman at Florida State University -- while crossing an intersection near the campus.
Suing in civil court, the Faircloth family hoped to recover damages from two bars -- Potbelly’s, an off-campus bar alleged to have served Dwyer, and the now-closed Cantina 101, which is alleged to have served Faircloth, the night of the crash.
RELATED: Family seeks civil justice in 2014 hit-and-run near FSU
Both Dwyer and Jackie Faircloth were underaged when the accident occurred.
Court testimony suggests both were intoxicated.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported the jury on Friday found Potbelly's and the former Cantina bar liable in the crash and awarded her family $30.8 million in damages.
The award includes $5.4 million in already incurred medical expenses, $15 million in anticipated expenses and $2.5 million in lost wages.
Attorney Don Hinkle said the award is a message as a new school year begins to area bar owners, saying they must not only do what is legal, but is right.
He added because of negligence, ”one person went to prison and another is now a prisoner in her own body.”
Dwyer was sentenced to two and a half years in the hit-and-run.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Dwyer has completed his prison sentence and is now serving eight years of community supervision.
Faircloth is now living in an assisted living facility, permanently disabled from the crash. She is not expected to ever work.
A previous attempt to collect more than $46 million from the bars earlier this year ended in a hung jury and mistrial.