The CTA should pay $3 million to a girl who killed and dismembered her North Facet landlord after an Illinois appeals court docket dominated {that a} trial decide correctly shielded jurors from studying in regards to the then-pending homicide case throughout her private harm lawsuit towards the transit company.
Sadly for Sandra Kolalou, also referred to as Sandra White, she might be in jail till not less than July 2076, when she might be 90 years outdated.
In a December 31 order, the Illinois First District Appellate Court docket confirmed a $2.8 million jury verdict towards the Chicago Transit Authority stemming from a 2018 bus crash wherein Kolalou was struck whereas strolling in a crosswalk. The court docket rejected the CTA’s arguments that the case ought to have been delayed or the decision diminished as a result of Kolalou was later charged, and in the end convicted, of homicide and associated crimes.
“However,” the court docket wrote, “our choice shouldn’t be learn as an endorsement of White’s conduct.”
After the civil case ended, a separate jury convicted Kolalou of the October 2022 slaying and dismemberment of 69-year-old Frances Walker in West Ridge. Kolalou obtained a 58-year sentence for homicide, dismembering a human physique, and identification theft.
The civil case arose from a March 1, 2018, incident wherein a CTA bus driver hit Kolalou, inflicting orthopedic and neurological accidents that she claimed resulted in persistent again and leg ache, future medical wants, and long-term lack of a standard life. The CTA admitted negligence, and the dispute centered solely on the quantity of damages Kolalou ought to obtain.
In October 2022, whereas the civil case was pending, Kolalou was charged with first-degree homicide, dismemberment of a human physique, concealment of a murder, theft, and aggravated identification theft after prosecutors mentioned she killed her Walker and dismembered her physique inside Walker’s house within the 5900 block of North Wastenaw Avenue, the place Kolalou rented a room.
Regardless of the pending costs, a Cook dinner County decide allowed the private harm case to maneuver ahead underneath Kolalou’s maiden identify, Walker, and barring any reference to the felony case or the truth that Kolalou was being saved within the Cook dinner County Jail because the civil trial was held.
Court docket data present the CTA filed a movement for a brand new trial in Might 2023, citing the poor audio high quality of Kolalou’s deposition, which had been recorded contained in the jail, and her alleged failure to reveal social media accounts.
These social media posts confirmed Kolalou “cliff-jumping, swimming with the dolphins, roller-skating, taking part in tennis, carrying excessive heels, and touring to far-away locations reminiscent of Egypt, South Africa, and Mexico” whereas she was experiencing debilitating leg and again ache, the CTA claimed in a submitting.
A second jury heard the case in October 2023 and returned a $2.8 million verdict, together with $400,000 for future medical care and $500,000 for future lack of regular life.
The CTA argued that the trial ought to have been postponed till the homicide case concluded and that jurors ought to have been advised Kolalou may spend the remainder of her life in jail, making future damages speculative.
On New Yr’s Eve, an appellate court docket rejected these claims, noting the CTA by no means sought a proper keep of the civil case and failed to supply admissible proof displaying how incarceration would negate her claimed damages.
The justices additionally emphasised that, on the time of the trials, Kolalou had not but been convicted, making the end result of her felony case unsure. Underneath Illinois legislation, proof of unrelated felony costs is mostly inadmissible due to its prejudicial impact, the panel mentioned.
Kolalou was convicted in April 2024 and later sentenced to 58 years in jail for the killing and dismemberment of her landlord, making certain she is going to spend a long time behind bars. Whereas acknowledging the disturbing nature of her crimes, the appellate court docket mentioned its choice shouldn’t be learn as excusing her conduct, however slightly as an easy utility of civil legislation and evidentiary guidelines.
The ruling leaves the CTA on the hook for the multimillion-dollar judgment regardless of Kolalou’s later conviction and sentence.
Information of the appellate court docket’s ruling was first reported by Authorized Newsline.
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