(The Associated Press circulated the following story on June 19.)
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — A Hancock County jury deliberated about three hours before awarding $5 million to the families of two boys killed in August 1999 when a CSX train hit a car in which they were riding.
After returning a verdict in favor of the families of Sean Finegan and Joseph Winningham, both 12. Jurors awarded $2.8 million to Winningham’s family and $2.3 million to Finegan’s relatives.
Biloxi lawyer Will Denton said court officials have said the damages are believed to be the largest awarded in Hancock County.
Finegan and Winningham, both of Bay St. Louis, were passengers in a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by 21-year-old Cecile F. Bilbo. Bilbo was crossing the railroad grade at Webb Avenue when the train struck her car.
The case involving Bilbo’s death was settled out of court. A group of at least five lawyers from Denton’s firm and a Houston law firm convinced the jury that CSX Transportation, which owns the railroad line, was partially liable. The families’ lawyers said Bilbo’s car got stuck in a hole along the side of the crossing.
“This crossing had been neglected and allowed to deteriorate,” said John Grazier of Houston, who represented the families.
The jury also found that Bilbo and the city of Bay St. Louis shared partial responsibility in the accident.
Although the families’ claim did not include the lack of warning devices at the Webb Avenue crossing, their lawyers said crossing gates were installed there after the accident. CSX could not be reached Saturday for comment.