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The family of Brian McCloskey, the Virginia Tech student who died from injuries sustained when he was run over by fellow student Aaron Pierce in November 2005, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday for $7 million against Pierce and the owners of the 2006 Ford Excursion from Magic City Ford in Roanoke which he was borrowing.
The McCloskey family is suing for $5 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
Pierce received a 30-day jail sentence for involuntary manslaughter among other penalties
Through negligence, the lawsuit accuses anyone who was involved in the accident.
In the lawsuit, Pierce is alleged to have driven the Ford Excursion under the influence of alcohol, driving in an area where motor vehicles are prohibited by law, failing to pay full time and attention to driving, failing to keep the vehicle in proper control, driving in a safe manner under current conditions, and failing to keep a proper lookout.
The lawsuit also alleges defendant Cameron Johnson, who had the authority to use the vehicle from his position of employment with his dad's company, defendant Magic City Motor Corporation, was negligent for knowing that Pierce was unfit to operate the vehicle on the night of the accident and knowing that he posed a risk to others.
McCloskey walked home from a party on the night of November 4, 2005, the same night that Pierce was driving students to and from parties in the area using his roommates Ford Excursion.
Two people found McCloskey lying unconscious in the grassy area; he died five days later from injuries that the police initially thought came from being beaten.
Weeks later, Pierce heard about the incident and went to the police worried that he may have been involved. He told authorities he thought he hit a large rock.
After examining the Ford, a pattern was found on McCloskey's body consistent to the tires on the vehicle.
Pierce made an Alford plea, which acknowledges that there is enough evidence to be convicted but allows him to maintain his innocence, for involuntary manslaughter.
If he keeps a clean record for three years, the manslaughter charge will be dismissed and he will serve 30 days in jail, 300 hours of community service and lose his license for a year.
Michael Shevlin, lawyer for the McCloskey family, was contacted but not reached.
This story was edited at 11:27 a.m.
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Did anyone edit this article? There are rampant grammatical errors. There are at least three in the first paragraph.
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Typical for the CT
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"sustained he was run" makes a lot of sense
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Thank you for getting this out there and attaching the PDF
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They also use the 'ol one sentence per paragraph rule. That makes for some great reading.
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He won't have his charge dismissed automatically. The article should read he will likely have his charge dismissed, not that he will. That is up to a judge. Also, he already was sentenced to the punishments of 30 days in jail, license suspension, etc. so that's not a "will be" future event -- it's what is in effect right now.
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