The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld a Fulton County jury’s verdict against the city of Milton in a 2016 fatal car crash.
Joshua Chang, a Yale University student who was home for the Thanksgiving holiday week, was driving on Batesville Road to his parents’ home on the evening of Nov. 19, 2016, when he swerved, possibly to avoid a deer, according to court records.
The car left the paved part of the road, slid more than 60 feet and struck a large, decorative planter that was on the shoulder of Batesville Road. The car flipped onto the concrete planter near the Little River Farms event venue in the city of Milton.
Chang died of blunt-force trauma from the collision, according to a wrongful death lawsuit brought by his parents, John Chang and Rebecca Zhu, and their son’s estate.
The parents sued the city alleging that it was negligent, failed to ensure safe roadways, and that the planter created a “nuisance.” A jury found the city liable and awarded $35 million in damages in June 2023.