A Washington, D.C.-area jury located in wealthy Prince George's County, Maryland, made this determination after hearing the facts of this sad case in which lawyer John Costello asserted that the school was negligent. Costello is the family lawyer to Nycole Davis, the mother of Ashley. She explained what happened when her daughter died.
"[Ashley] was... doing the right thing. She was going to school. She was a good girl. She didn't deserve this," said Nycole.
Costello talked about the school policy regarding what he considered "safe transportation." He said that "the policy was... to pick up Ashley on her own side of the street. They never did. They forced her to cross the street. She got killed crossing the street."
Nycole Davis also spoke on this topic, saying that if Ashley was not forced to go across the street to get on the bus she would "be graduating...She'd be going to prom this year."
And so, after deliberating about this serious situation that had one unsuspecting student die in the process, a six-member jury awarded the family a verdict of a whopping $90 million. This amount is to cover "damages...medical expenses and funeral costs."
According to reports, the school involved is expected to appeal this jury decision that puts the payout among the largest in the nation. The family awarded the $90 million will likely not get that amount when all is said and done according to the attorney who represented the case for the Davis family.