Family of Slain Teen Awarded $3 Million

PhillyBurbs.com is reporting that the family of a teenaged girl who was killed by a drunk driver seven years ago was awarded nearly $3 million by a judge Monday.

On Aug. 19, 2004, Ashley Lynne Nickerson-Whalen, was struck by a vehicle on Street Road as she attempted to cross. The vehicle was driven by Kirk Tate, 21, of Philadelphia.

Tate was uninsured at the time of the accident and he fled the scene. He was charged with hit-and-run and DUI.

According to a piece on prweb.com, Doylestown attorney Carol Shelly represented Nickerson-Whalen’s family. The trial was before the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

After a trial on Aug. 15, the court awarded $2,947,749.92 in damages for wrongful death, survival action and punitive damages, according to prweb.com.