The parents of two Minnesota teens killed in a drunken driving crash in July have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the woman at the heart of a dispute between the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and federal immigration authorities.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 29 by the parents of Brady Heiling and Hallie Helgeson, who died following the crash north of Madison around midnight on July 20. A criminal complaint filed against Noelia Martinez-Avila alleges she had a blood alcohol level of .208 and tampered with a court-ordered ignition interlock ordered by a judge following a previous drunken driving conviction.
The wrongful death lawsuit alleges the teens’ deaths were the “result of the negligence and carelessness” of Martinez-Avila. An attorney representing the parents did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The suit seeks unspecified damages, which will be determined by a jury, from Martinez-Avila and two insurance companies that provided liability coverage on her vehicle…