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$21 Million Awarded in Queens for Car Crash Death

By IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON

March 13, 2008 -- A Queens jury awarded a 10-year-old girl more than $21 million after her father was killed in a fiery car crash caused by a doctor nearly five years ago.

Antionette Hawthorne-Stanton was barely 5 years old when her father, James Stanton, was killed in a car crash after being hit by minivan driven by a physician from Teaneck, NJ.

Stanton and his brother were both burned to death as flames engulfed the car.

"She was devastated. There was no more communication, no more hugs and kisses," said the girl's mother, Sheila Hawthorne. "She enjoyed being in his presence, and all that came to a screeching halt."

The Queens Supreme Court jury awarded Antionette $21.35 million - $10 million alone for pain and suffering - after finding Dr. Howard Antosofsky and the company from which he leased the minivan responsible for the crash.

The girl's lawyer, Evan Torgan, said Antionette got to hear from witnesses how much of a doting father Stanton was. "It was important for her to see who her father was, how much he loved her," he said. "And it was important for her to know he didn't abandon her."

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