An Illinois appeals court has ruled that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) must pay nearly $3 million in damages to a woman who was later convicted of murdering and dismembering her landlord. The court found her subsequent criminal conviction irrelevant to the separate personal injury claim.
Court Upholds Injury Award Despite Murder Conviction
Sandra Kolalou, also known as Sandra White, was struck by a CTA bus while in a Chicago crosswalk on 1 March 2018. She sued the transit agency and the driver, Tyrone Bynum, in February 2019, citing orthopedic and neurological injuries including chronic pain. The CTA and Bynum admitted negligence, leaving the value of damages to be decided by a jury.
In a twist that has drawn significant attention, Kolalou was later convicted in April 2024 for the first-degree murder and dismemberment of her 69-year-old landlord, Frances Walker, in an unrelated October 2022 incident. She was sentenced to 58 years in prison in July 2024.
The Legal Battle Over Damages
The initial civil lawsuit concluded in February 2023 when a Cook County jury awarded White $3 million, covering future medical care and loss of a normal life. The CTA argued that her incarceration made future treatment speculative, leading a judge to order a new trial.
A second jury subsequently reduced the total to $2.8 million, including $400,000 for future medical care and $500,000 for future loss of a normal life. The CTA appealed again, contending that the civil case should have been paused during her criminal prosecution and that her conviction should bar or reduce the payout.
Appellate Court's Decisive Ruling
The Illinois Appellate Court firmly rejected the CTA's arguments. In its ruling, the court stated that Kolalou's incarceration and murder charges were not pertinent to assessing damages for injuries she sustained years earlier in the bus accident.
The court upheld the $2.8 million jury verdict, affirming that the personal injury compensation is a separate legal matter from her criminal culpability in the homicide case. This decision underscores the legal principle that civil liability for negligence is determined independently of a plaintiff's later criminal actions.
The case has concluded a complex eight-year legal journey, beginning with the 2018 accident and persisting through Kolalou's arrest in 2022 and subsequent murder trial.
