A Greene County jury awarded $22 million last week to the family of Dr. Adam White for his wrongful death outlined in a lawsuit against Durhamtown Off Road Park Inc. and its owner-operator, Robert M. McCommons.
The offroad park shut down abruptly in January with calls to its owners going unanswered.
Durhamtown had faced similar issues in the past. A Greene County Superior Court jury awarded nearly $15 million to a Dahlonega man who sued the facility after being severely injured when his motorcycle wrecked on an exposed culvert pipe in December of 2014. The civil case was adjudicated five years later in December of 2019. That judgment was upheld by a Georgia appellate court in March of 2021.
Three people were killed while riding at Durhamtown between September of 2019 and June of 2020.
That includes Adam White, a dentist from Gwinnett County, who was killed in a dirt bike crash.
Lauren Watt, spokesperson for the law firm of Andersen, Tate & Carr said in an email that the verdict is the largest in Greene County history.
“The details are heartbreaking,” she said. “A Braselton native, 47-year-old father of three killed by a falling tree after the owner-operator of the facility used a backhoe tractor to knock down trees while the motocross track was open and occupied. He knew the track was open and heard riders on the track, but kept going anyway, killing Dr. Adam White.”
The verdict was filed April 29 in Greene County Superior Court, listing as defendants: McCommons, Durhamtown Off Road Park Inc., Durhamtown Farms Inc., Durhamtown Pro Shop Inc., Georgia Trails & Rentals Inc. and Two Rivers Irrevocable Trust, Robert M. McCommons, Trustee.
According to the Greene County Tax Assessors website, the property is still owned by Two Rivers Irrevocable Trust. The business has been rebranded as Georgia Off-Road Adventures. Prominent on the website’s home page is a link to fill out a legal waiver prior to arriving at the facility.
The waver includes: I acknowledge and agree that my or my child(ren)/ward(s)’s use of Georgia Off-Road Rentals’ facilities and equipment and participation in Activities offered by Georgia Off-Road Rentals entails known and unknown risks which are inherently dangerous, can be life-threatening, and can result in physical or emotional injury, including, but not limited to broken bones, sprained or torn muscles, tendons or ligaments, internal injuries, brain injuries, paralysis, death, or other bodily injury. I understand that such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the Activities.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office lists Georgia Off-Road Rentals LLC as being formed on Jan. 19 of this year. The registered agent is Hailey McCommons, listed with an address of 2250 Randolph Church Road in Union Point.