Lawsuit Settled Over One-Punch Death Of Metro Detroit Soccer Ref
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The family of a Detroit-area soccer referee who was killed by a player's single punch has settled a lawsuit over the death.
The Detroit Free Press says details weren't disclosed at a court hearing Friday. Attorney James Acho says the "family is satisfied with the result."
John Bieniewicz died last summer after Bassel Saad punched him in the head just moments before Saad would have been issued a red card ejecting from the weekend adult league game in Livonia. [HEAR THE 911 CALL]
Bieniewicz' widow Kristen, sued Saad, the manager of his team and the Michigan United Soccer League for a total of $51 million. The figure represents $1 million for each of the 51 additional years that Bieniewicz, 44, could have lived, according to the suit filed in Wayne County court.
She in part faulted the league for allowing Saad to play despite his reputation as a violent player.
Saad — a 37-year-old auto mechanic who lived in Dearborn — was sentenced last spring least eight years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
In exchanged for Saad's guilty plea to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors dropped a second-degree murder charge, which carries a sentence of life in prison. After serving his sentence, Saad faces deportation because he is not a U.S. citizen.
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