The heartbroken mother and father of a California highschool tennis star have filed a wrongful demise lawsuit towards the alleged drunk driver who fatally hit him whereas he was out for a late-night stroll with buddies.
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 a neighborhood hospital, the place he was pronounced useless, only a month earlier than he was attributable to graduate from Loyola Excessive Faculty.
Belt — who was driving with a suspended license following a previous DUI arrest — had a blood alcohol stage almost two instances the authorized restrict on the time of the crash, in keeping 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 demise.
Now, after months of battling with their grief, Levi’s mother and father have filed a wrongful demise lawsuit towards Belt for $200 million in damages.
“Our household has made the choice to file a civil lawsuit towards the person accountable for taking Braun’s life,” the teenager’s mom, Jennifer Levi, stated.
“This isn’t a choice rooted in anger, vengeance, or monetary acquire. It’s a determination grounded in accountability, prevention, reform, and the unwavering love now we have for Braun.”
Levi’s mother and father stated the cash gained within the lawsuit will go to the “Reside Like Braun Basis” — a scholarship fund they based following their son’s demise that may also assist help 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, realizing from the outset that she should thereafter function a motorized vehicle,” the wrongful demise lawsuit claims.
Belt then allegedly “willfully selected to function the automobile whereas intoxicated and at an unsafe, extreme velocity,” putting Levi and inflicting “extreme bodily and head accidents that finally prompted his demise.”
The lawsuit additional claims officers who arrived on the crash scene detected the odor of alcohol on the 33-year-old and he or she 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 harm collision.
LA County court docket information point out she confronted DUI prices from a November 25, 2023, incident involving accidents, the LA Instances reported.
Nevertheless, the DUI prices had been dropped as a part of a September 2024 plea deal, with Belt pleading no contest to a misdemeanor rely of hit-and-run with property harm, the Westside Present reported.
Beneath the plea settlement, Belt’s driver’s license was reportedly suspended, and he or she acquired a one-year probation sentence.
The swimsuit claims that regardless of these prior incidents and finishing lessons on the risks of drunk driving, “[Belt] however willfully selected to function her automobile whereas severely intoxicated, in 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 world after dropping their residence within the wildfires that devastated huge swaths of Los Angeles in January.
