Missouri jury awards $745 million in death of woman struck by driver who used inhalants

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri jury has awarded $745 million to the parents of a young woman killed on a sidewalk outside an urgent care center by a driver who huffed nitrous oxide canisters right before the accident. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the verdict was reached Friday in the lawsuit brought by the parents of Marissa Politte. She was leaving her workplace at the Ballwin Total Access Urgent Care in St. Louis County on Oct. 18, 2020, when she was struck by an SUV. The two-week trial focused on whether the company that distributes nitrous oxide under the name Whip-It! conspired with a smoke shop to sell the product to customers they knew intended to inhale the gas to get high.