OCEAN PINES, MD - The family of Gavin Knupp, the 14-year-old killed in a hit and run in 2022, has filed a civil lawsuit against multiple parties, including the man convicted in connection to the teen’s death.
In the initial filing of the suit, obtained Wednesday by WBOC, Gavin’s father Ray, mother Tiffany, and sister Summer are all listed as plaintiffs. Tyler Mailloux, currently serving the remainder of an 18-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to felony “failure to remain at the scene of an accident which he knew or reasonably knew might result in death and where a death did occur”, is listed as the first defendant.
Kearston Lee Frey and Ralph Deangelus, Mailloux's mother and father-in-law are also named in the suit. Matt Ortt Companies and Ocean Pines Association, Inc., where Mailloux worked, are listed as defendants as well.
According to court documents, Knupp’s family accuses Frey and Deangelus of hiding the car that Mailloux was driving the night of the hit-and-run. The family goes on to allege that Matt Ortt Companies, which managed the Ocean Pines Yacht Club at the time, served Mailloux and other Yacht Club employees alcohol free of charge immediately before the collision.
“Defendant Mailloux fled the scene of the collision and did not return to the scene because he was aware that he consumed alcohol prior to the collision and his normal coordination was potentially affected as a result, thereby causing and/or contributing to the cause of the accident,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, June 25 in Worcester County Circuit Civil Court.
The Knupps accuse Mailloux of multiple counts including negligence, wrongful death, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Numerous other complaints of negligence and wrongful death are levied against the multiple defendants in the suit. In total, the Knupps seek damages for over 16 counts.
According to court documents, the Knupps seek amounts in excess of $75,000 per count, totaling at least $1.2 million from the defendants.
"This lawsuit is the next step in holding accountable all those responsible for Gavin's death," the Knupp family attorney said in a statement. "Beyond that we will have no comment while litigation is ongoing."