$61M verdict against 2 drivers responsible for the death of Torrance high school baseball player

A Los Angeles County jury awarded $61 million to the parents of a high school baseball player in Torrance killed when his car was hit by two men engaged in a rage-fueled high-speed chase.

The family of Jesse Esphorst Jr., who was 16 when he was killed in a three-vehicle crash in 2017, will likely have trouble collecting all of the money. The driver who is believed to have instigated the chase, Tung Ming, is the son of a wealthy and well-connected family in China, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney. He has fled the United States.

While vowing to pursue Ming for the money, lead plaintiffs’ counsel Robert Clayton of Taylor & Ring said, “Tuesday’s verdict gives his family some support they need to continue to navigate their lives while dealing with this unimaginable tragedy.”

Anthony T. Case, a partner at Case Harvey Fedor in San Diego, represented driver Darryl Hicks. Allison L. Grandy of the Law Office of Cullins & Grandy represents driver Tung Ming. Neither of the attorneys could be immediately reached.

Both drivers were convicted in January 2020 of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving, causing injury or death. Hicks is still in prison.

Details of what led up to the deadly crash were disputed at trial. But two hours after the crash, police recorded a statement from Ming that was played for jurors at trial. Ming also gave a videotaped deposition that was shown to jurors.

“Ming was at the intersection of Crenshaw and Silver Spur Blvd at a light when he saw a silver Audi making an illegal U-turn in front of him. There was no collision at that point, just a car making an illegal U-turn in front of him,” Clayton said. “So Mr. Ming, in his own words to the police, ‘I got pissed off and tried to speed around him’ and as he’s trying to speed around Mr. Hicks. The two vehicles have a minor paint exchange, and then there’s a dispute in the facts as to whether or not Mr. Hicks pulled over. And then Ming started driving more erratically. That’s road rage.”

A chase ensued, reaching 120 miles per hour on surface streets. At the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Crest Road in Torrance, both vehicles ran a red light. Hicks’ auto struck the Esphorsts’ minivan first, spinning it around. Ming then crashed head-on with the minivan going approximately 80 to 85 mph.

Jesse Esphorst Sr. was driving while his teenage son, Jesse Jr., was in the front passenger seat. Jesse Jr. was killed and Jesse Sr. sustained serious injuries.

Ming had called 911 at the start of the dispute with Hicks and claimed that the operator told him to chase down Hicks and get his vehicle license plate. During the civil trial, Los Angeles County settled with the family for $6.5 million.

Clayton said Ming’s claim that he was encouraged by the 911 operator to chase Hicks was belied by the 911 tapes that were played during the criminal trial.

“The dispatcher asked twice, ‘Can you give me the license plate number?’ and he responded, ‘I can’t see it. My eyesight is bad. Let me get closer.’ And then she says, ‘when you get the license plate number, I want you to pull over and… .’ That’s when you hear the collision on the tape,” Clayton said. “She didn’t tell him to chase him. She had no idea he was going 120 mph. She was trying to get all the information she could in the 60 seconds she had to determine his location so she could dispatch officers.”

The jury awarded mother Julie Esphorst more than $23 million in wrongful death damages. It awarded Jesse Sr. $16 million for his injuries and $20 million for wrongful death damages. The jury also awarded $2 million in punitive damages against Ming and $18,000 in punitive damage against Hicks. The total damage award to the Esphorsts was $61.7 million. The jury found Ming to be 95% at fault and Hicks 5%.

Ming, who is believed to be in Australia, was something of an enigma to the jurors, Clayton said.

“All the jury knew about Ming was his trial deposition testimony, which we played for him. He was 21 years old at the time of his incident. He got licensed at 19 in California. He’s owned multiple Audis. He owned a brand new Cadillac and then, a year later, bought this nearly new Mercedes Gl350 SUV. They knew his parents sent them to boarding school in England when he was 13 and sent them to a private school in Texas for high school,” Clayton said. “They got the impression this was a guy with money.”

With Hicks in prison and Ming on the lam, Clayton said he must be patient in collecting the jury award for his clients.

“We filed a subsequent fraudulent conveyance lawsuit against Ming when he was criminally convicted,” Clayton said. “Two weeks later, he sold a house in his name. It was valued at about $3.85 million. He sold it to a family acquaintance for 1.5 million in cash. So we’ve got that property tied up in the lawsuit, and that’s currently set for trial in February. So, if all goes well, that property sale will be nullified and revert to Ming.”

Then Clayton and his team should be able to gain ownership of that property, which he estimated is closer to $4 million.

“His parents, as I understand it, are one of the major private suppliers of equipment to the Chinese military, so they are very wealthy,” Clayton said. “They can buy his peace or allow him to have this giant verdict against him in the United States, and if he ever steps back in this country, he’s going to have a real problem.”

Lawrence Marks of Mardirossian Akaragian LLP was also a member of the plaintiffs’ trial team, representing Jesse Esphorst Sr. The civil case was Julie A. Esphorst v. Darryl L. Hicks et al., BC700634, (L.A. Super., filed Apr. 03, 2018)