MIAMI — A Miami law firm announced a lawsuit Thursday against model and retired actress Devon Aoki and her husband, investor James Bailey, days after the latter’s arrest by Coral Gables police on accusations that he hit and seriously injured a scooter rider, then fled the scene.
Bailey, 40, of Pinecrest, is accused of running over a scooter rider from California, Jonathan King, in the crosswalk at Douglas Road and Giralda Avenue early Monday evening.
Police said he fled in the Audi SUV and went to the couple’s multi-million-dollar mansion, where Coral Gables and Pinecrest police were waiting for him. He’s accused of running in the home to evade authorities before eventually coming out and being arrested on a felony hit-and-run and a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge.
Aoki is named in the lawsuit as vicariously liable under Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine because she owns the vehicle. Besides modeling and acting in films like “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “Sin City,” the 43-year-old is also an heiress to the Benihana restaurant fortune; her father, Rocky, founded the chain in the 1960s.
The suit, filed in Miami-Dade court by attorney Justin Shapiro at Coconut Grove-based Leesfield & Partners and claiming negligence, states that Bailey “was operating his SUV in a reckless manner” when he failed to stop at a stop sign and hit King, “literally (running) over his left leg” while on the scooter.
Read the lawsuit:
It claims that Bailey did so while possibly “impaired by alcohol and/or substances,” though the Coral Gables Police Department report listed no indication of alcohol or drug use and Bailey does not face any DUI charges.
The suit states that cellphone video shows King begging Bailey to reverse and free his trapped leg. It states that Bailey did back up, but took off without rendering aid or notifying authorities.
King, authorities said, suffered injuries, including two foot fractures. The lawsuit demands a jury trial and states that he intends to amend it “in short order to add punitive damage claims stemming from the gross negligence and/or intentional misconduct” by Bailey.
Bailey was released from jail on Tuesday evening after posting a $7,500 bond. As he walked out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, he flashed a grin at a Local 10 News camera before attempting to cover his face with a piece of paper.
He had nothing to say when asked by reporter Bridgette Matter about the charges.
Local 10 News contacted Michelle Suskauer, a West Palm Beach attorney reportedly representing Bailey in his criminal case, seeking comment Thursday afternoon. She told entertainment site TMZ that her firm is “currently gathering information about this accident as it involved someone operating a scooter entering an intersection.”
Bailey is scheduled to appear in Miami-Dade court on Feb. 13 for an arraignment hearing in the felony case in front of Judge David Young.
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