AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – A jury has awarded roughly $897 million to a family of a child severely injured when a high-speed vehicle crashed into a guardrail during a 2023 field trip at a test track in Auburn Hills.
The verdict came more than three years after what was supposed to be a fun and educational summer STEM program trip became a life-altering tragedy for two families.
Elijah Gibson, 8 at the time, and Lavell McGee, 10 at the time, suffered “life-altering injuries,” according to the families’ attorney, Jon Marko.
“It was a severe tragedy,” Marko said. “What was taken from this family and taken from these children is priceless, and it can never be brought back.
The $896,467,970 verdict was awarded to the family of Elijah Gibson.
The crash
The crash happened in July 2023 at a Continental test track, now known as an Aumovio facility.
According to a civil complaint filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, children attending a Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program, or DAPCEP, summer STEM camp were invited to a vehicle demonstration organized by Continental.
“They had no idea that they were going to get there and be placed next to a high-speed racetrack,” Marko said. “They didn’t even tell the school that they were going to do this, so it’s the absolute last thing that any parent could imagine.”
The complaint alleged that Continental positioned the children directly behind a guardrail near the track.
Some children were leaning over or on top of the guardrail, according to the filing, and the company allegedly failed to stop them or provide warnings and signage about the danger.
After making a turn, the driver accelerated and lost control, according to the complaint.
The vehicle struck the guardrail and hit the children before flipping onto its roof.
Marko said the vehicle was traveling about 55 miles per hour and that the driver had only been working at the facility for about three months.
“They threw him the keys and said, ‘You’ve got to drive,’ because the professional driver who was supposed to be driving was at his bachelor party,” Marko said.
Marko said the children’s injuries were life-altering. The lawsuit said one child was hospitalized with large wounds to his legs and other parts of his body, along with a traumatic head injury, scarring, and disfigurement. The other child suffered permanent brain and orthopedic damage.
“They’re never going to be the same,” Marko said.
Marko also accused Continental of disabling safety systems, including traction and braking control, before the demonstration.
“There were so many opportunities to stop this from happening,” Marko said. “So many intentional bad decisions were made. When you put profits over people, bad things happen.”
Marko also alleged that, immediately after the crash, a Continental employee contacted a corporate lawyer while the children were still being treated at the scene. Marko alleged the company was trying to locate waivers that could help it avoid responsibility.
“It’s disgusting,” he said. “While these little children were on the ground struggling for their lives, the head VP of their marketing and communications department was on the phone with the corporate lawyer before the kids were even loaded into the ambulance.”
‘We remain profoundly disappointed by Continental’
Elijah Gibson’s father, Vincent Gibson, said the family was grateful to its legal team and the jury “for acknowledging the immense physical and emotional trauma our son has endured since July 2023.”
He said the verdict would help secure Elijah’s future care but criticized Continental, now known as Aumovio, for what he described as a lack of accountability and compassion throughout the legal process.
“While this verdict secures his future care, we remain profoundly disappointed by Continental’s (Aumovio’s) absolute lack of accountability and complete apathy toward our family throughout this years-long ordeal,” Gibson said.
“No verdict can undo the permanent injuries Elijah suffered, but the jury gave us the justice the company refused to offer,” he said. “Our focus now is entirely on Elijah’s lifelong healing.”
Marko said the verdict was one of three major verdicts his firm obtained this summer – totaling nearly $1 billion. The other child’s family received $32.7 million, his firm said.
“These decisions that Continental made have changed their lives forever -- for the worse,” he said. “This should scare any parent.”
Responses to the verdict
Local 4 reached out to Continental for comment on the verdict, but we are waiting to hear back.
A spokesperson with DAPCEP stressed that the claims in this matter “were dismissed with prejudice, and the case has since been resolved.”
DAPCEP declined to comment further, but added that it remains “committed to creating safe and engaging learning experiences, and the safety and well-being of the children we serve has always been and remains our highest priority.”
