$900 thousand dollar verdict in texting and driving lawsuit

Texting and driving: It’s never a good combination.

After a three day trial, a Jasper County jury has awarded Olivia Kelly of Joplin a 900-thousand dollar verdict in a texting while driving lawsuit brought against Joseph Schnaedter, also of Joplin.

Kelly, then 16, was left with a traumatic brain injury.

The suit accused Schnaedter of texting while driving and having diverted attention that the plaintiffs said led to a two-car crash at 42nd and Virginia in December of 2016.

The jury said Schnaedter and his insurance company bore 84 percent of the responsibility for the mishap.

Kelly and Schnaedter were students at Joplin High School at the time of the accident.