UFC athlete being sued over crash
A Huntington Beach woman is suing former Ultimate Fighting Champion title holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, claiming he caused her to miscarry after hitting her SUV on the 55 Freeway during a chase through Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
Holli Griggs, who was more than 16 weeks’ pregnant last July when Jackson sped his lifted pickup truck from the 55 Freeway through Costa Mesa and Newport Beach before surrendering to police, is suing for unlimited damages and is seeking compensation for property and medical expenses and emotional distress.
Jackson was arrested July 15, by police after he sped his truck along the median on the southbound 55 Freeway just before Newport Boulevard where he “rammed, and continued to ram” Griggs’ SUV until he made it past onto the street, her lawsuit claims. After the collision, Jackson hit at least two more cars on Newport Boulevard where Costa Mesa police tried to pull him over.
Driving on one flat tire and talking on his cell phone, Jackson ignored officers’ commands and continued into Newport Beach, at some points nearly hitting pedestrians, until he finally surrendered and was taken into custody. He was bailed out of jail later that evening. Earlier this year, Jackson pleaded guilty to felony evading a police officer and driving against traffic and misdemeanor reckless driving.
Prosecutors did not charge Jackson with causing Griggs’ miscarriage.
“The evidence showed that [the crash] was in no way related to the loss of the fetus. There is no evidence that that was the case,” Farrah Emami, district attorney spokeswoman, said in August when charges were filed.
But Griggs claims otherwise. According to the lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court on May 11, when Jackson’s Ford F-350 slammed into her vehicle, it caused her abdomen to slam against the steering wheel. The impact caused her to leak amniotic fluid and led to her child’s stillbirth, the lawsuit claims.
She’s seeking punitive damages for emotional distress and compensation for damages to her and her vehicle.
Jackson’s lawyers have yet to file a reply to the lawsuit.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.