Girl’s parents file wrongful death suit in fatal crash

By Steve Green

Friday, May 29, 2009 | 9:50 a.m.

A wrongful death and negligence lawsuit has been filed against a teenager and his parents over a November vehicle accident that killed Coronado High School sophomore Olivia Hyten.

The girl's parents filed suit Tuesday in Clark County District Court against David Jensen, the driver of a pickup truck Olivia Hyten was a passenger in when it rolled on Nov. 14. Also sued were Jensen's parents, Lynn Steven Jensen and Judy Meldrum Jensen.

Teresa Brandise and Timothy Hyten, Olivia's parents, allege in the suit that negligence on the part of David Jensen led to the death of their daughter.

The suit alleges David Jensen's parents are also responsible for letting David drive their 2004 Silverado pickup, despite allegedly knowing he was an unsafe driver.

Attorney Bill Terry, who represented David Jensen in a criminal case over the fatal wreck, could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit Friday.

Henderson police said the vehicle David Jensen was driving carried three passengers and that it crashed and rolled on Grand Hills Drive in Seven Hills.

This week's lawsuit alleges that at the time of the wreck, David Jensen, 16 at the time, had a limited driver's license permitting him to have no passengers in any vehicle he drove except for an adult relative.

Olivia Hyten's parents allege David Jensen's parents knew of this restriction, that he was driving with their permission at the time of the wreck and "they knew that their son was an unsafe driver, repeatedly drove in an unlawful and unsafe manner, that he was unfit to operate the subject vehicle and that he would operate it in an unsafe manner."

The plaintiffs contend David Jensen was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck, that his parents breached their duty that he drive in a lawful and safe manner and that under Nevada law David Jensen's criminal conviction in the case "is conclusive evidence of all facts necessary to impose civil liability."

The suit seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, for pain suffered by Olivia Hyten, who was 15, and for the parents' loss of their daughter.

In February, David Jensen was sentenced to six months in youth detention after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Olivia Hyten.

David Jensen also lost his driver’s license, will be on probation until he is 21 and must perform 500 hours of community service speaking to other teenagers about the dangers of speeding.

He also pleaded guilty to aggressive driving that resulted in injuries sustained by another teen, Stephen Lubawy, who was riding in the vehicle.

In the criminal case, David Jensen acknowledged he was neglectful, driving 62 mph in a 25 mph zone, and that his neglect resulted in Hyten’s death and Lubawy’s injuries, which included a fractured vertebrae and internal bleeding.

Terry, David Jensen's attorney, has said he hadn’t been drinking or taking drugs and he remained on the scene of the crash until police arrived. Terry has said the crash in large part resulted from David Jensen's inexperience at driving.

In September, Jensen had been cited for driving 48 mph in a 25 mph zone.

Separately, two adults were charged with providing alcohol to minors at a party in Henderson this month. Investigators said that some of those teens were at the scene of the crash that killed Hyten.

This week's lawsuit was filed by attorneys Robert Adams and David Tanner of the firm Mainor Eglet Cottle.