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 mates.
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 as a consequence of graduate from Loyola Excessive College.
Belt — who was driving with a suspended license following a previous DUI arrest — had a blood alcohol stage practically two instances the authorized restrict on the time of the crash, in line 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 answerable 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 mother and father stated the cash gained within the lawsuit will go to the “Dwell Like Braun Basis” — a scholarship fund they based following their son’s demise that can even assist help public tennis facilities and lift consciousness in regards to 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, figuring out from the outset that she should thereafter function a motorized vehicle,” the wrongful demise lawsuit claims.
Belt then allegedly “willfully selected to function the car whereas intoxicated and at an unsafe, extreme pace,” placing Levi and inflicting “extreme bodily and head accidents that in the end 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 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 rely of hit-and-run with property harm, the Westside Present reported.
Underneath 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 courses on the hazards of drunk driving, “[Belt] however willfully selected to function her car whereas severely intoxicated, in acutely aware disregard for the protection of others.”
Earlier than Levi’s life was reduce 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.
