Mother of Aaron James Allen Joins Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit

The mother of former Lake View footballer Aaron James Allen joined the deceased 20-year-old’s father in a in a multi-million dollar lawsuit last month and is seeking damages from 31-year-old Jaime Tankersley, who crashed into their son’s car on Dec. 6, killing him.

Allen’s biological father, James Slaughter, filed the lawsuit on Feb. 2, citing a long list of negligible acts on the behalf of Tankersley that he says caused his son’s death. Chief among them was that the defendant operated a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and failed to yield right of way at a light where she turned into the side of Allen’s car.

On April 24, Allen’s biological mother Ruth Ruiz filed a petition in intervention, joining Slaughter in the case and seeking an additional sum in excess of $1 million. Slaughter is seeking the same relief, however a specific number has not been named by either party.

Both Slaughter and Ruiz are seeking compensatory damages for “past and future pecuniary loss; past and future loss of companionship and society; and past and future mental anguish”. Ruiz is further demanding a jury trial on all issues triable. She is being represented by attorney Stephen E. Haynes.

Tankersley responded to Ruiz’s petition on May 5 via her lawyer Keith Davis, generally denying all of the allegations against her and demanding strict proof of the negligence. The same response was provided to Slaughter in February.

Hearings have not been scheduled in the case and the fact-gathering phase of discovery is ongoing.

The crash occurred on Dec. 6 at 11:54 p.m. at the intersection of 7^th St. and N. Bryant as Allen was southbound in a Civic. Tankersley, headed north in a Dodge Ram 1500, turned left at a solid green light, colliding with the side of Allen’s vehicle and causing severe injury that killed him at the scene. She was subsequently arrested and jailed for intoxication manslaughter, but posted a $25,000 bond the next day. She has since been granted a special needs driver’s license that allows her to drive up 12 hours a day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Tankersley has not been indicted on any charges, nor have the results of her blood-alcohol test been made public. The crash report also remains confidential. Sergeant Cade Solsbery with the San Angelo Police stated that the case will be going before a grand jury, however he could not confirm when.