A pair of Dallas residents who say they were injured in last month's hit-and-run crash involving Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice and Southern Methodist University student Teddy Knox have sued the two men for at least $10 million.
Court documents list Rice as the driver of the Lamborghini involved in the crash and Knox as the driver of a Chevrolet Corvette. Court documents allege the two drivers were racing "well over" the 70 mph speed limit prior to the crash in the 6600 block of North Central Expressway in Dallas.
While weaving through traffic, police and the plaintiffs say Rice and Knox hit a median and crashed into cars in their path, setting off a high-speed chain reaction of other vehicles.
The two plaintiffs in the suit were both in a vehicle hit during the chain reaction and suffered severe injuries including trauma to their brain, they allege in court documents.
"When the public streets of Dallas are turned into a racetrack by the uncontrolled whims of high-powered vehicle operators, the accountability of the civil justice system must also step in and issue a deterrent to all," the plaintiffs' Dallas-based attorney Sanjay Mathur said in a separate statement. "If not, innocent men, women, and children will continue to be unnecessarily injured by all those who feel the itch to race down our roads and highways."
Rice is represented by Texas Sen. Royce West, who is a managing partner at West & Associates L.L.P.
Two days after the crash, West issued a statement on behalf of Rice that said the NFL star was cooperating with local authorities. Last week he issued another statement after Rice turned himself into authorities.
"I want to re-emphasis Mr. Rice's continued cooperation with law enforcement," West said in the statement. "Mr. Rice acknowledges his actions and feels deeply for those injured as a result of this accident. Our legal team is now tasked with reviewing all legal documents."
West did not immediately respond to request for comment regarding the lawsuit Monday.
Knox, a 21-year-old cornerback at SMU, was suspended from the university last week after Dallas police issued a warrant for his arrest.
Both Rice and Knox face eight felonies: six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and one count of aggravated assault.
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