The heartbroken dad and mom of a California highschool tennis star have filed a wrongful dying lawsuit in opposition to the alleged drunk driver who fatally hit him whereas he was out for a late-night stroll with associates.
Braun Levi, 18, was strolling with a pal down a boulevard in Manhattan Seaside at round 1 a.m. on Might 4 when an Infiniti FX35 allegedly pushed by 33-year-old Jenia Resha Belt plowed into the teenager and killed him.
Levi was rushed to an area hospital, the place he was pronounced lifeless, only a month earlier than he was attributable to graduate from Loyola Excessive College.
Belt — who was driving with a suspended license following a previous DUI arrest — had a blood alcohol stage almost two occasions the authorized restrict on the time of the crash, in accordance with court docket information obtained by the Los Angeles Instances.
Authorities arrested the alleged drunk driver on the scene, however after being launched on June 4, Belt has but to be formally charged with a criminal offense referring to Levi’s dying.
Now, after months of battling with their grief, Levi’s dad and mom have filed a wrongful dying lawsuit in opposition to Belt for $200 million in damages.
“Our household has made the choice to file a civil lawsuit in opposition to the person accountable for taking Braun’s life,” the teenager’s mom, Jennifer Levi, stated.
“This isn’t a call rooted in anger, vengeance, or monetary achieve. It’s a choice grounded in accountability, prevention, reform, and the unwavering love now we have for Braun.”
Levi’s dad and mom stated the cash received within the lawsuit will go to the “Dwell Like Braun Basis” — a scholarship fund they based following their son’s dying that can even assist assist public tennis facilities and lift consciousness concerning the risks of impaired driving.
The lawsuit claims Belt visited a bar in Hermosa Seaside and consumed “extreme portions of alcohol” earlier than driving.
“Defendant Belt voluntarily commenced and thereafter continued to eat alcoholic drinks to the purpose of intoxication, understanding from the outset that she should thereafter function a motorcar,” the wrongful dying lawsuit claims.
Belt then allegedly “willfully selected to function the automobile whereas intoxicated and at an unsafe, extreme velocity,” placing Levi and inflicting “extreme bodily and head accidents that in the end brought on his dying.”
The lawsuit additional claims officers who arrived on the crash scene detected the odor of alcohol on the 33-year-old and she or he allegedly admitted to consuming earlier than the deadly crash.
The swimsuit additionally states she was a “repeat offender drunk driver,” with a previous arrest and prosecution for DUI involving an damage collision.
LA County court docket information point out she confronted DUI costs from a November 25, 2023, incident involving accidents, the LA Instances reported.
Nevertheless, the DUI costs had been dropped as a part of a September 2024 plea deal, with Belt pleading no contest to a misdemeanor depend of hit-and-run with property harm, the Westside Present reported.
Below the plea settlement, Belt’s driver’s license was reportedly suspended, and she or he acquired a one-year probation sentence.
The swimsuit claims that regardless of these prior incidents and finishing lessons on the hazards of drunk driving, “[Belt] nonetheless willfully selected to function her automobile whereas severely intoxicated, in acutely aware disregard for the security of others.”
Earlier than Levi’s life was lower quick, he was gearing as much as play tennis on the College of Virginia following his commencement from highschool.
He was additionally killed simply months after his household relocated to the realm after shedding their house within the wildfires that devastated huge swaths of Los Angeles in January.
