Wrongful death lawsuit filed for student-athlete killed by elevator in Atlanta
By REBEKKA SCHRAMM
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ATLANTA (WGCL) — Attorneys for the mother of a student killed by a malfunctioning elevator at an Atlanta apartment building announced Thursday they’ve filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
JauMarcus McFarland, 18, a Missouri native who attended Champion Prep Academy, died on August 31 after he was crushed by an elevator at a high-rise apartment building called 444 Highland. Witnesses told CBS46 that as the elevator slipped downward, some of McFarland’s teammates were able to escape, but McFarland became trapped between the floor and the elevator car and was crushed to death.
A photo of the elevator’s inspection certificate showed it was past due for a checkup, with the last inspection expiring in August 2020.
Attorneys for McFarland’s mother Jessica Moore have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the companies that own and manage the building, three elevator service companies, and the school McFarland attended.
Defendants include Nazar Holdings LLC, Nazar Properties LLC, Nazar Holdings 11 LLC, Sohanna Properties LLC, Alpha Elevator Services LLC, Velocity Elevator LLC, Georgia Commercial and Residential Elevators LLC, and Georgia Prep Sports Academy, also known as Champion Prep Academy.
The family has hired two attorneys from the Cochran Firm Atlanta, Shean Williams and Sam Starks to represent them in the wrongful death lawsuit.
“His death was a direct relation of a multitude of failures,” said Williams. “Simply put, if these multitude of failures were corrected, years, months, days before Aug. 31, Jau’Marcus would still be here.”
The attorneys also announced that McFarland’s mother has filed a second lawsuit against the school, claiming its leaders failed to give the family the money it raised on a GoFundMe account purportedly to help the family pay for funeral expenses. Attorney DeNorris Heard represents the family in the GoFundMe lawsuit.
CBS46 is reaching out to the defendants and will update this article with their reaction to the lawsuits.
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