Farmers Insurance on the Hook for $100K in 2015 Oklahoma State Homecoming Crash

An insurance provider whose imprisoned client drove into a crowd at Oklahoma State University’s 2015 homecoming parade will pay out $100,000 to the victims.

A judge is expected to decide how the money will be divided during an August hearing, The Oklahoman reported.

Mark Smiling, an attorney for Farmers Insurance, said the victims, along with medical care and insurance providers, won’t receive a lot of money. He said that’s common when there isn’t enough insurance proceeds to pay for an accident’s full damages.

“It’s totally up to the judge’s discretion how he’s going to divide those proceeds,” Smiling said.

The Oct. 24, 2015, crash killed four people, including a 2-year-old boy, and injured dozens of others.

Prosecutors alleged the driver, Adacia Chambers, 27, sped up before slamming into the parade spectators. Chambers first was suspected of driving under the influence, but her attorneys said she has a mental illness and experienced a psychotic episode at the time of the crash.

Chambers pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in January. She was sentenced to life in prison.

The victims incurred medical bills that ranged from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. But Chambers’ liability coverage capped at $100,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage.

“Most of your carriers don’t write huge policies on young people,” Smiling said. “She had a little more than the minimum, but not enough there to cover all the damages.”

The insurance company has already paid more than $37,000 to Stillwater for damages. At the August hearing, $12,537 in coverage for property damage also will be divided up.