Family Of Jo-Jo Wright Files $150M Lawsuit Against Hempstead Town
UNIONDALE, NY — The family of high school basketball star Jomani “Jo-Jo” Wright, who was killed in a car crash in Uniondale in January, have filed a $150 million lawsuit against the Town of Hempstead and others, alleging that the road where the accident occurred was not maintained because it was in a minority neighborhood.
Lawyers for the family — including civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump — said that the town knew the intersection was dangerous but allowed it to remain without a stop sign or traffic lights, according to Newsday.
Wright’s family announced in May that it was planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the town for the accident, which occurred on the afternoon of Jan. 27 as Wright and three others were heading to basketball practice. The three other teens received non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.
The intersection, at Maple Avenue and Front Street, now has a stop sign but did not at the time of the crash.
“You are witnessing the lack of infrastructure in our communities,” Heather Palmore, the family’s attorney, told News 12.
The Town of Hempstead did not comment on the lawsuit. But in May, when the prospect of the suit was first announced, a town spokesman said that the claim that racial bias played a role in how the town maintains roads was “without merit.”
Wright was a 15-year-old sophomore at Uniondale High School when he died. A point guard, he racked up numerous accolades as a freshman for the Knights. He was one of only two freshmen in New York to be named all-state in 2020.