A Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department rescue unit. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on June 9, 2025 at 5:02 pm
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A Duval County jury has awarded $10.3 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 21-year-old woman who died in a head-on crash on Interstate 295 in Arlington.
But when the family of Nell Marie Behr might see that settlement will be determined by multiple factors, says local attorney and legal expert John Phillips, who is not involved in this case
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Ramon Gerardo Cerda, 39, was driving on the wrong side of the interstate when the crash occurred on Jan. 12 2023, according to the police and prosecution reports. The Palacios, Texas man plead guilty a year later, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for DUI manslaughter and reckless driving causing damage, according to court files.
Behr’s parents’ lawsuit filed says that Cerda was driving “under the influence of alcohol and beyond the legal limit” following a night of drinking. His blood alcohol level was three times the Florida limit, law enforcement said.
“Defendant Cerda engaged in all of the above-alleged conduct with such gross negligence as to indicate a reckless and wanton conscious disregard and indifference to the life, safety, and rights of those members of the public exposed to his drunk driving,” it states. “As a direct and proximate result of Defendant CERDA’s conduct, Nell Marie Behr was killed in the crash.”
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Receiving any of that settlement could take some time, and more legal action, since Cerda is behind bars, said Phillips, who admits to winning some very large settlements himself, such as the 2019 wrongful death of Kalil McCoy.
“There is probably not going to be any insurance company writing a check immediately without multiple levels of appeal; multiple required bad faith trials,” Phillips said. “And Part B of it is – you can’t get blood out of a turnip, and so sometimes, like my large $495 milion verdict, the family just wants to go after a piece of paper and future liens and judgement, even though it might not be collectible.”
Florida Highway Patrol troopers were called out to the early 2023 two-car crash on I-295 near Monument Road. Behr, an Illinois native who had just graduated nine days earlier from Florida State College at Jacksonville, was on I-295 north approaching Monument Road when the crash happened.
Cerda was heading home from a Jacksonville bar after he had been drinking, and was on the wrong side of I-295 when he hit Behr’s car head-on, records show. His headlights were not on, the suit says.
“Behr suffered severe injuries and was later determined to be brain dead. She was pronounced deceased on Jan. 15, 2024,” a State Attorney’s Office news release states. “Cerda was taken to the hospital for his injuries, and while there, investigators noticed his bloodshot eyes, alcohol on his breath, and slurred speech. Cerda also told officers he had been drinking before the crash.”
Troopers took a sample of Cerda’s blood, which showed a blood alcohol level of .128, the State Attorney’s Office said. The state’s legal limit is .08.
He pleaded guilty on Jan. 12, 2024, and was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Tygart Lindsey just over three month’s later. Upon his release, he must serve three years probation and 200 hours of community service, with a permanent drivers license suspension court records show.
Nell Behr’s parents, Monique and John Behr, filed their five-page lawsuit against Cerda on March 23, 2023. Part of the lawsuit says that Cerda was “habitually addicted to the use of alcohol.” That lawsuit claims all damages allowed by Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, including but not limited to “monetary support of the decedent, loss of net accumulations, loss of earnings past and future, medical expenses associated with Nell Marie Behr’s death, funeral expenses, and loss of services and support.”
“Cerda admitted fault for the fatal crash and liability for both compensatory and punitive damages,” the Behrs’ attorneys’ news release states.
The jury in the civil lawsuit awarded $5 million to each parent, who had been planning to relocate from Chicago to Jacksonville to be closer to their daughter before her death. The family’s personal injury attorneys could see up to 40% of that, the rest going to them, Phillips said.
It is unknown what level of insurance Cerda carried at the time of the crash, or if any of it would be used to pay the settlement. But Phillips said that a $10.3 million settlement for the pain and suffering the fatal crash caused Behr’s parents “isn’t outside the realm of reason.” And his insurance company probably had the opportunity to act earlier, before the Behr family sued.
“What they should have done is seen that their driver was drunk and caused a loss, and immediately offered what the policy limits were within reason,” he said. “So $10,000 – pay it. $100,000, pay it. $1 million – maybe pay it. Very few people run around with $1 million insurance.”
Cerda’s attorneys have 20 to 30 days to file a motion for a new trial, arguing “some missed point” during the trial, Phillips said.
The bar where Cerda had been drinking before the crash had also been named in the lawsuit, but was not a defendant at trial. A separate jury will consider punitive damages starting this week.
