'Affluenza' teen's family to pay victim $2M

[mystery-ak]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NORTH_TEXAS_DEADLY_WRECK?SITE=MYPSP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-06-13-29-10


May 6, 2:40 PM EDT

'Affluenza' teen's family to pay victim $2M

By EMILY SCHMALL
Associated Press

 FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- The family of a Texas teenager who killed four people in a drunken-driving wreck has agreed to pay more than $2 million to the family of a boy who was paralyzed in the accident, according to court documents detailing the first approved settlement in the case.

The liability insurer of Ethan Couch's parents agreed to pay more than $1 million in cash and the rest in annuities to a trust established for Sergio E. Molina, who was among 12 people injured in the wreck last year near Fort Worth.

Couch's case drew national attention after his attorneys argued that his wealthy parents coddled the then-16-year-old into a sense of irresponsibility, which one witness termed "affluenza." He was sentenced to 10 years of probation and ordered to a rehab facility.

Molina, who was riding in the back of Couch's pickup when it flipped, can now only smile and blink, according to his parents. He has been in the hospital since the June accident.

His older brother, Alexander Lemus, said his family was disappointed in the settlement.

"We're not happy about it, but we just have to take what we got and strive for better days," he said Tuesday.

Along with the cash payment, the Couches' insurer will buy two annuities to make monthly payments of $1,515 and $1,837 to the trust starting in July, and another annuity to cover attorneys' fees, according to Tarrant County court documents.

Molina was in the back of Couch's pickup truck on June 15, 2013, when Couch swerved and hit a stranded motorist and three people who had stopped to help her. All four were killed.

The pickup also rammed a parked car, sending it into another car traveling in the opposite lane, before the truck rolled over and smashed into a tree. Molina was tossed out and landed on his head.

Molina's parents sued Couch and his parents after the accident. Five other families of the injured or killed also have settled with the Couches, pending court approval. Details of those settlements haven't been released. One family is seeking a jury trial.

Randy Nelson, the attorney representing Couch's parents, Fred and Tonya Couch, declined comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

[mountaineer]

Authorities fear 'affluenza teen' on the run may have fled US
Dec. 17, 2015


The Texas sheriff hunting for the "affluenza teen", who is missing after violating his probation, says it's about time someone treated the spoiled teen like an adult.

The Tarrants County sheriff's department has been looking for Ethan Couch since he disappeared December 11th, when he missed a probation meeting.

A spokesperson for the sheriff's department said, "Any mess-ups from now on, he's going to be over with us. He's going to see what the big-boy jail is like."

Authorities fear that Couch may have fled the U.S, according to The Dallas Morning News.

"With the wealth and the wherewithal that his family has, it's going to be a tough assignment for us to find him," Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.

When found, police hope the teen will face the charges as an adult.

Couch was let off by a juvenile judge after the teen killed four people in a DUI crash. His defense argued the teen suffered from "affluenza," meaning he couldn't understand the repercussions of his actions because of his financial privilege.

A judge sentenced Couch to rehab and 10 years of drug-and-alcohol-free probation instead of jail. A video surfaced on Twitter earlier December that showed a teen strongly resembling Couch playing beer pong, which, if true, would be a violation of court orders.


More, including photos, here

[mountaineer]

Video of infamous beer pong game at New York Post.