PLANO - Last week, a Collin County jury awarded a total of $15 million in damages to three families whose teenage sons were killed in a horrific automobile accident in early 2020.
According to the plaintiffs’ petition, on Feb. 16, 2020, the three teenage boys, Jin Chen, Yuxuan Wang and Yuchen Jin, entered Focus BBQ in Plano. They were seated together at a table and began ordering various Chinese dishes and alcoholic beverages. After several hours of consuming alcoholic beverages, the intoxicated teenagers left Focus BBQ around 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2020.
“After exiting Focus BBQ, the teenage boys climbed into a 2019 BMW 330i sports car … that was being operated by Yuxuan Wang,” the petition states. “The intoxicated teen lost control of the BMW and hit a tree located on the south side of Eastbound Hedgecoxe Road. The BMW then spun away from the tree, became airborne, and hit another tree located in the median strip dividing Eastbound and Westbound Hedgecoxe Road.
“The impact with the second tree was so violent that it split the BMW in half, directly behind the driver’s seat. The front of the vehicle burst into flames and came to rest in the Westbound lanes of Hedgecoxe Road; the rear portion of the BMW came to rest in the Eastbound lanes of Hedgecoxe Road.”
Throughout the legal proceedings, two law firms represented the plaintiffs, Gowan Elizondo in Corpus Christi and the Sassin Law Firm in Plano.
“Greed is bad,” said attorney John Schroeder of Gowan Elizondo. “There is a reason why the law forbids minors to drink, and for a business to not only allow them to drink but to get grossly inebriated is beyond comprehension.”
The $15M jury verdict is one of the largest in Collin County history.
“The word ‘justice’ is used a lot in our business,” said co-counsel Bady Sassin of the Sassin Law Firm. “In this case, justice was finally served in its most accurate form. No one is above the law and allowed to serve alcohol to minors. These families will never have their sons back, but hopefully this will serve as a reminder to all businesses looking to make a quick buck by selling alcohol to teenagers."
Gregory Gowan, a founder of Gowan Elizondo, said the verdict was “closure of a very sad chapter” in the lives of the firm’s clients.
“Hopefully it provides them strength to continue the healing process,” Gowan added.
Court records show the charge of the jury was filed on July 22.
Cause No. 219-01655-2020