Wife of Columbia Man Killed By Motorist Awarded $10 Million

A woman who hit and killed a pedestrian in Columbia while she was talking on her phone and speeding has been ordered to pay $10 million to the victim's wife.

Circuit Court Judge Joshua Devine on Wednesday approved the judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Regine McCraken by Adrienne Siddens, KMIZ-TV reported.

Siddens' husband, Randall Siddens, was seriously injured on May 5, 2019, when McCracken hit him as he picked up traffic cones while volunteering at a triathlon after a bike race on Grindstone Avenue, police said.

McCracken was speeding and talking on her phone on a video call when she went around a police escort and hit Randall Siddens, police said. She was reportedly going 68 mph in a 50 mph zone. Siddens required extensive medical treatment.

Siddens died from his injuries six months later in November, 2019.
Crash investigators determined McCracken's vehicle hit a parked vehicle and two men and almost hit a police vehicle. One of the men was thrown nearly 130 feet, according to a probable cause statement filed with the initial charges.

Boone County assistant prosecutor Nicholas Komoroski also filed a motion Monday to revoke McCracken's $50,000 bond. Police arrested McCracken when charges were first filed and she bonded out, according to KMIZ.

McCracken was sentenced in May 2021 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter and other charges.