Jeff Sieben Press

Harry Sieben and Jeff Sieben recently won a $2,000,000 award for a client that was seriously injured when she was hit by a driver that ran a red light.  Sarah Shelley was a passenger on a motorcycle and when they were hit by an SUV that ran a red light.  The driver of the SUV had been drinking and left the accident scene without calling for help.  After months of police investigation, the driver and owner of the SUV were identified and charged.  The driver was convicted and served time in jail.  Now he has been ordered to pay Sarah Shelley $2,000,000 for the injuries caused by that accident.

Man ordered to pay millions following hit & run

From Kare11.com

"I didn't see it coming at all," Sarah Shelley said of the accident that changed her life forever.

The 2006 accident happened fast. The two-and-a-half year recovery from it has been slow.

"I've felt every minute of that," Sarah said. "It was looking pretty dire for a while. I actually signed a consent to get my leg amputated. It was some serious surgeries."

14 serious surgeries since the crash in August of 2006 35th Street and Baisdell Avenue in Minneapolis.

Sarah was the passenger of the motorcycle. The driver, Aaron Liimatainen, had to have his right leg amputated after the crash. He told KARE 11 News he too has a civil case in the court system.

"This is what I have in there currently. Plates and about 13 screws," Sarah said while looking at x-rays of her leg. "My knee is very damaged. There'll probably be further surgeries on the knee."

More surgeries will mean more money and additional time away from work.

"It's not easy to sit around with the cast and not know if your leg is going to heal," Sarah continued.

Maurice M. Price has already been convicted of causing the accident and Sarah's injuries. Now Price and the owner of the car he was driving have been ordered to pay $2,000,000 dollars to cover Sarah's expenses.

But--

"This driver has no ability to pay at this time," lawyer Jeffrey Sieben said.

Now more of a moral victory, Sarah's lawyers say she'll have to continue working to make it a monetary one too.

"He has gotten out of prison. We expect that he'll become a productive member of society. If he is, he'll then have some means to repay the debt he owes to Sarah Shelley," Sieben, a lawyer at Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey, said.

"It is my hope that he will get a job and become part of society. And then every tim e he gets paid, he'll have to pay me and remind him of me. 'Because I'm reminded of him every single day," Sarah concluded.

Maurice Price was not insured at the time of the accident. Sarah Shelley did have uninsured motorist coverage for herself.

Maurice Price could not be reached for comment.