URBANA (News-Gazette) — The mother of a Champaign ride-share-driver was awarded $44.7 million in damages Friday in a lawsuit filed against the teen charged with murdering her son two years ago.
Champaign County Judge Benjamin Dyer handed down the ruling in favor of Marla Rice, whose son, Kristian Philpotts, 29, was killed on Jan. 12, 2022, during an apparent robbery attempt.
Rice and the personal injury law firm LegalRideshares filed a civil lawsuit in March 2023 against Tyjohn G. Williams, 18, who stands charged of first-degree murder. The judge determined in December 2023 that Williams and his mother, Tia Williams, were liable for Mr. Philpotts’ death.
“It's bittersweet for sure," Rice said after the judge’s order. "No amount of money could ever replace my son's life. My self and my family, we're still completely devastated and just wanting justice at the same time. This is not all the justice but this is some justice.”
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Mr. Philpotts, of Chicago, was driving a rental Jeep and working as a Lyft driver to earn money to go to veterinary school when he was shot around 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2022.
He was found unresponsive on South Vine Street near Burkwood Court, south of Florida Avenue, having apparently gotten out of the Jeep after being shot in the back. He died about a half-hour later at Carle Foundation Hospital from a single bullet wound.
Within hours, Urbana police had two teens in custody and were looking for Williams, who apparently got picked up by his mother in Urbana then jumped from her car and fled. He was later arrested on March 7, 2022, in Gainesville, Ga., and returned to Champaign County.
Williams and his two cousins — Jahiem Dyer, 19, and Na’Shown Fenderson, 18 — were in the Jeep when the shooting took place, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz previously said.Â
Dyer and Fenderson were each sentenced to probation in 2022 after they pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and agreed to testify against Williams.
Court records show that Judge Dyer found Williams and his mother liable for damages during a Dec. 7, 2023, hearing. The verdict was determined by default after Williams and his mother did not appear in court.
Williams and his mother did not participate in any of the court hearings in this civil lawsuit, Greening said. Friday’s hearing was for the purpose of determining how much in compensatory damages the judge should award the Philpotts’ family.
“Today's judgment does not bring back Kristian Philpotts,” LegalRideshares lawyer Bryant Greening said after the ruling. “That said, accountability is very important and what today's award provided was justice and the Rice family celebrates that justice was served.”
Rice previously filed a lawsuit against Lyft, Inc. that charged the company with two counts of negligence, one count of voluntary undertaking of a wrongful death and one count of voluntary undertaking of a survival action.
Greening said that the civil lawsuit is now resolved. Williams’ trial on murder charges is scheduled to begin in June.
“I just want the world to know that this was a person that had a future,” Rice said of her son.
“If he was still here, he'd probably would have been a veterinarian by now. This was someone that was on their way to becoming a veterinarian, to helping others. This is a loss in the community”
