County settles with family of boy paralyzed by speeding police officer

(Washington Examiner) - Montgomery County will pay $400,000 to the family of a Clarksburg boy who was paralyzed by an off-duty police officer driving more than 25 miles per hour over the speed limit.

With the boy never expected to walk again, the family is bracing for millions of dollars more in medical costs -- while the officer involved in the crash remains a member of the county's police force.

In April 2008, off-duty Officer Jason Cokinos struck 12-year-old Luis Jovel Jr. with his police cruiser as the boy crossed the street in front of his home on Stringtown Road. In a follow-up report, police determined that Cokinos was driving 56 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and concluded that the boy would not have been hit if the officer were traveling at the speed limit.

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