California IN BRIEF : SANTA ANA : Paralyzed Boy Awarded $38.8 Million

A jury awarded a $38.8-million verdict Tuesday to the family of an 8-year-old Irvine boy who was paralyzed when his mother’s car was struck by the driver of a stolen car who was fleeing police. But an attorney for Trent McGee said the boy and his family will probably never see any of the money. The car thief, John Eric Phelps, is serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to felony charges resulting from the July 1994 crash. An Orange County Superior Court jury found Phelps negligent and liable for all of the boy’s injuries, including expensive medical care he will need the rest of his life, said Gina Genova, one of the McGees’ lawyers. Trent is paralyzed from the neck down and must use a respirator. About $2.2 million of the damages were awarded to his mother and older sister, who were in the car but were not seriously injured, and to his father. Phelps, a Dana Point resident with a history of traffic violations, had run a red light on July 11, 1994, when he broadsided the McGees’ station wagon, according to police reports. Phelps, then 30, was arrested after a six-hour, door-to-door search near the crash, and charged with hit-and-run driving and other felony counts. He pleaded guilty that July and was sentenced to seven years in prison.