DALLAS - The family of a North Texas teen who killed four people in a drunken crash has reached settlements with some, but not all, of the families of the victims, court records show.
Ethan Couch, 16, was given 10 years of probation for intoxication manslaughter in the crash last year, which left several people severely injured. His case and sentence drew national attention because of a defense expert’s testimony that Couch’s parents had coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility - a condition the expert called “affluenza.”
Court records in Fort Worth indicate Couch’s family has settled three lawsuits, including two with families of three of the people killed: Breanna Mitchell, whose car had stopped on a rural Tarrant County road; and Hollie and Shelby Boyles, a mother and daughter who were trying to help.
The third settlement is with the parents of Isaiah McLaughlin, who was a 13-year-old passenger in the car of minister Brian Jennings, who also was killed after stopping to help Mitchell.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 03/20/2014