The family of the late Monique Muñoz, 32, has reached an $18.85 million settlement after a 17-year-old crashed a Lamborghini into her vehicle at high speed and killed her last year, the family’s attorneys announced.
On February 17, 2021, Brendan Khuri, 17, ran a red light in his father’s Lamborghini SUV and crashed into Monique Muñoz’s vehicle near L.A.’s Westwood neighborhood, the Associated Press reported. Muñoz, who was heading home from work at a hospital, died within 15 minutes after the collision, Fox News reported.
Prosecutors said in the leadup to the crash, Khuri — who entered a guilty plea to one count of vehicular homicide with gross negligence — was jumping lanes at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (MPH) while racing another vehicle, according to the AP.
Referencing the Lamborghini’s data recorder, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Daniel Whitmore testified in juvenile court that the vehicle was zooming at about 106 MPH two seconds prior to the crash, KNBC reported. Breaks were applied, and the SUV slammed into Muñoz’s vehicle at a speed between 77-92 MPH, Whitmore said.
In September, a judge sentenced the teen to nine months at a juvenile camp which will be followed by four months of probation. The same month, Muñoz’s family filed a lawsuit leading to the $18.85 million settlement announced by their attorneys Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
“Please know that I am so deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart,” Khuri said at the hearing, according to KNBC.
Daniel Ghyczy, an attorney for the Muñoz family, said the “family can finally get some closure for this horrific tragedy” following the settlement, according to KNBC.
Ghyczy said in part:
The family pleaded for the district attorney to investigate this case and met with the office dozens of times to advocate for their family. It was never about money for the Muñoz family, it was about acknowledgement of (the teen’s) misconduct that resulted in the death of their only daughter and to ensure that he was held accountable. Today’s settlement is a testament to their efforts and is a step closer to justice.
“The monetary award could ultimately exceed $25 million, attorneys for Munoz’s family said,” the Associated Press noted. “During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge decided to continue the case to a later date, when the family’s total restitution will be determined.”
Attorneys said that in the months before the crash, the Khuri was cited for speeding and the Beverly Hills Police Department impounded the Lamborghini, which his father, James Khuri, retrieved for the teen three days later, the Associated Press reported.
Additionally, Muñoz family attorneys made the case that James Khuri — a wealthy businessman who has 1.9 million Instagram followers, according to Fox News — had previously posted about racing his son on the social media platform.
James Khuri “owns four real estate companies and five manufacturing and distribution companies” and aimed to achieve “$200 million in revenue with his e-commerce businesses in 2021,” a Forbes profile from December 2020 stated.
The businessman car enthusiast is due in court on June 8 on a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the Associated Press.
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