A man injured in a crash with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in January 2017 is "only very reluctantly" filing a $1 million lawsuit against the player for damages.
The man's lawyer told NBC 5 his client has ongoing medical issues from the crash and is suing for $1 million to cover the costs associated with his care.
The crash happened at about 7 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2017, near the intersection of Gaylord Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, as Elliott was on his way to practice at The Star just before the playoffs were to begin.
According a police report, Elliott ran a red light striking Ronnie Hill in the passenger side of his BMW 7 series.
Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.
Initially, it was described as a fender bender but the crash caused $33,000 in damage to Hill’s vehicle and ended up being written off as a total loss, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon.
Hill’s attorney, Quentin Brogdon said both airbags in Elliott’s Yukon SUV deployed.
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According to the lawsuit, Hill "suffered, and continues to suffer serious, life-altering injuries and damages."
The lawsuit is seeking $1 million.
Texas is not a "direct action" state, so drivers are not allowed to sue another drivers’ insurance company directly. They must sue the driver individually instead.
"Zeke Elliott, to his credit, admitted at the scene that he ran the red light. Zeke Elliott, as far as we know, has not impeded in any way the agreed resolution or settlement of these legal claims," said Brogdon.
According to a crash report obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation, Elliott told police he accidentally ran a red light and struck the other driver.
Brogdon said Hill is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and Zeke Elliott, so he filed the lawsuit "only very reluctantly."
“Almost two years have now passed and there’s been more than enough time and more than enough information provided for this claim to get resolved,” Brogdon said.
Elliott's attorney released a statement to NBC 5 Thursday afternoon saying... "This lawsuit - stemming from a 2017 car accident - is between the plaintiff and Mr. Elliott's insurance company. Mr. Elliott was only named personally because Texas is not a "direct action state" - which means that a claimant cannot file directly against the insurance company but must first name the individual insured (Elliott) in order to trigger the insurance coverage. That is exactly what occurred here. We expect Mr. Elliott's insurance provider to step in accordingly and handle the matter appropriately."
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