CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) - The family of a 70-year-old woman who was killed in 2016 during a high-speed police chase in Savannah was awarded $3.5 million by a jury on Thursday.
According to court records from a lawsuit filed by the family of Bernitha Vaughn, the family matriarch was heading home after church on March 10, 2016, and shopping at the grocery store when she was struck in a high-speed collision and killed.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Vaughn, Kareem Felder, plead guilty in Chatham County Court. Felder was accused of vehicular homicide and reckless driving in connection with accident.
The family sued due to the circumstances of the chase, where multiple law enforcement agencies were pursuing Felder at high speeds in undercover police vehicles.
The jury found in favor of the family and awarded them damages in Pre-Death Pain and Suffering, Funeral and Burial Expenses and Full Value of Life of the Decedent.