The parents of a Johnson County boy killed late last year in a car crash in Shawnee are now suing the man accused of causing the wreck while driving drunk.
Late last week, Ashlee and Aaron Davidson, the mother and father of Nolan Davidson, 9, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Johnson County District Court against Matthew Jacobo.
In the civil suit, the Davidsons are asking for at least $75,000 in damages related to the fatal accident, which occurred on Dec. 1, 2023, in Shawnee.
The lawsuit states the money would help cover economic and property damages, as well as “mental anguish, conscious emotional pain and suffering and loss of relationship and companionship” with their son, according to court documents.
Neither attorneys for the Davidsons or Jacobo immediately responded to a request for comment from the Post.
An online case docket notes the parties are scheduled to hold a settlement conference on May 7.
The accident occurred in Shawnee
The accident occurred on the evening of Friday, Dec. 1, in the westbound lanes of Johnson Drive, approximately 500 feet west of Maurer Road.
Recorded radio traffic from that evening and accounts later documented in a criminal affidavit, state that a 911 caller reported a pickup truck, alleged to be driven by Jacobo, driving at an estimated 80 miles per hour westbound on Johnson Drive when it hit a Honda Accord being driven by Aaron Davidson head-on near the intersection with Bell Road.
According to the Davidson’s lawsuit, Nolan Davidson was riding in a car seat in the back of his father’s Accord, and the pickup truck hit the driver’s side passenger door next to where Nolan was seated.
Shawnee Police said after the accident that Jacobo ran from his truck, but they were able to track him down and arrest him.
A criminal affidavit said that investigators on the scene noted several signs of intoxication and conducted a field sobriety test on Jacobo that yielded a preliminary blood alcohol content reading of .18 grams, well over Kansas’ legal limit of .08.
According to Phoenix House, a national nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation network, a blood alcohol content of .18 would leave an average individual “severely impaired” to the point of having trouble walking, talking or standing upright.
Lawsuit blames Jacobo’s negligence for Nolan’s death
In their lawsuit, filed by their attorney, J. Phillp Gragson of Topeka-based law firm Henson, Hutton, Mudrick, Gragson and Vogelsberg, LLP, the couple allege reckless behavior by Jacobo led to their son’s death.
“Jacobo acted negligently, wantonly, and otherwise recklessly failed to perform his duty of care in the operation of his vehicle resulting in the injury and death to Nolan Davidson,” the lawsuit reads.
The couple blames Jacobo’s carelessness behind the wheel for causing Nolan’s death.
“(Jacobo)’s negligence was the legal and proximate cause of injuries and damages sustained by Nolan Davidson resulting in his untimely death,” court documents stated.
Jacobo’s listed attorneys for the civil suit, Eric Hurtt and Craig Blumreich, did not immediately respond to the Post’s requests for comment.
Jacobo also still faces criminal charges
A Kansas City, Kansas, resident, Jacobo is also still awaiting trial for criminal charges in Nolan Davidson’s death.
Jacobo faces charges of second-degree murder, fleeing from the scene of a deadly accident, possessing a firearm while intoxicated and misdemeanor possession.
He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
His next court date in the criminal case is set for May 29 in Johnson County Court.
According to online booking records, Jacobo remains in the custody of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at the county’s adult detention center in New Century. His bail remains set at $1 million.
An outpouring of support followed Nolan’s death
In the following months since Nolan’s death, communities in Johnson County have come together to show their support.
Signs bearing the phrase “Nolan Strong,” along with his youth soccer number, can still be seen around Lenexa and Shawnee.
His youth soccer club, KC Fusion, created armbands with his jersey number, and in March, Christa McAuliffe Elementary in Lenexa, where Nolan attended school, announced it would dedicate a memorial garden in his name.
“Nolan Davidson was a third grader at Christa McAuliffe and embodied all the great things our school and community stands for,” said Michael Orr, principal at Christa McAuliffe Elementary, in a previous interview with the Johnson County Post.
Go deeper: Community rallies to honor Lenexa boy killed in crash — ‘Be like Nolan’
