Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

‘Affluenza’ teen’s family to pay victim $2M

North Texas Deadly Wreck

KDFW-FOX 4 / AP

In this December 2013 image taken from a video by KDFW-FOX 4, Ethan Couch is seen during his court hearing in Fort Worth, Texas.

FORT WORTH, Texas — The family of a Texas teenager who killed four people in a drunken-driving wreck has agreed to pay more than $2 million to the family of a boy left paralyzed by the accident.

Tarrant County court documents show that the liability insurer of Ethan Couch's parents agreed to pay more than $1 million in cash and the rest in two annuities to a trust established for Sergio Molina.

Molina was among 12 people injured. His parents say he can only smile and blink.

Couch's case drew national attention after his attorneys argued that his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility, which one witness termed "affluenza."

Five other families of the injured or killed have settled with the Couches, pending court approval. One family wants a jury trial.

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