A Phoenix jury awarded $45 million in damages on Wednesday to the family of Tyler Roberts, 28, who was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a delivery driver who was using his phone at the time of the crash. The verdict, one of the largest in Arizona history for a wrongful death case, found the delivery company negligent for failing to enforce distracted driving policies.
Roberts was driving home from work in November 2023 when his motorcycle was struck by a delivery van making a delivery in Scottsdale. The driver, who was using his phone to navigate, ran a red light at an intersection Roberts was crossing with the right of way.
The plaintiff's attorneys argued that the delivery company had no policy prohibiting phone use while driving and had no system for monitoring driver behavior. Video surveillance footage shown to the jury captured the driver looking at his phone in the moments before the collision.
"This tragedy was preventable," said attorney Michael Torres, who represented the Roberts family. "The company had a legal and moral obligation to ensure their drivers were not endangering the public. Their failure to do so cost a young man his life."
The delivery company announced it would appeal the verdict, calling the damages "excessive and not supported by the evidence." The company's statement expressed sympathy for the Roberts family while maintaining that its driver was solely responsible for the accident.