Parents File Lawsuit After Loss of Tennis Star Son

The grieving parents of an 18-year-old tennis player from California have taken legal action against a suspected drunk driver who fatally struck him during a late-night outing with friends.

Brown Levi was walking with a friend on a busy street in Manhattan Beach around 1 a.m. on May 4 when he was hit by an Infiniti FX35 allegedly driven by 33-year-old Jenia Lesha Belt.

Just weeks shy of his graduation from Loyola High School, Levi was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Belt, driving with a suspended license from a prior DUI incident, reportedly had a blood alcohol concentration nearly double the legal limit at the time of the accident.

Authorities arrested her at the scene, but as of June 4, she has not been formally charged with any crime linked to Levi’s death.

In the wake of their profound loss, Levi’s parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Belt, seeking $200 million in damages. “This isn’t about anger or revenge; it’s about responsibility and love for Brown,” said Jennifer Levi, his mother.

Any funds from the lawsuit, they say, will support the Live Like Brown Foundation and a scholarship fund aimed at raising awareness about impaired driving while also aiding public tennis facilities.

The lawsuit claims that Belt consumed “an excessive amount of alcohol” at a bar before driving, and alleges that she knowingly chose to drive while intoxicated, resulting in the tragic accident.

It is reported that officers at the scene noticed a strong smell of alcohol on Belt, who admitted to drinking prior to the incident. She has a history of drunk driving, having been previously arrested and charged with DUI leading to bodily injury.

Although a DUI charge from a separate incident was dismissed in a plea deal, Belt did plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge for hit-and-run related to property damage, and her driver’s license has since been suspended.

The complaint further states that despite her prior incidents and awareness of drunk driving dangers, she consciously chose to drive while severely impaired.

Before his untimely death, Levi had plans to play tennis at the University of Virginia after finishing high school. Tragically, he had also lost his family home to wildfires in the Los Angeles area just months before the accident.