13 year old California girl awarded $150m for family's death in car accident

A jury awarded a 13-year-old California girl $150 million in a wrongful death lawsuit following a car accident in which her family burned to death. Kylie Asam's mother, father and brother were killed Nov. 22, 2009, after their vehicle struck a truck illegally parked on the 210 Freeway near Montrose. Kylie and her then-11-year-old brother, Blaine Asam, were able to crawl out of a broken rear window of their family's GMC Yukon as the rest of their family died. Attorney Brian Brandt said the truck's driver was illegally parked on the shoulder designated for emergencies and he didn't have trailer lights or emergency reflectors on. The driver, Rudolph Ortiz, drove for Bhandal Bros. Trucking. Ortiz's lawyer said his client pulled over to take headache medicine, which constituted an emergency. Brandt argued Ortiz had given multiple accounts of why he pulled over, including to urinate and pulling over to sleep. The jury found against Ortiz and the trucking company, awarded Kylie $150 million, including $8.75 million in damages for Blaine, who committed suicide in June, four days before their mother's birthday, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Brandt said the money will be kept in a trust fund for Kylie.