A Dallas crash victim has secured a $2.88 million default judgment against Theodore "Teddy" Knox, the former SMU cornerback who was racing Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice when their vehicles triggered a six-car pileup on a Dallas highway last year. The judgment marks the third default ruling against Knox tied to the March 30, 2024 collision, piling civil liability on top of criminal consequences that both men have already faced.
Knox was behind the wheel of a Corvette while Rice drove a Lamborghini SUV. Both vehicles were speeding in the far left lane of U.S. 75 when the drivers lost control, according to AP News, setting off a chain-reaction crash involving four other vehicles. Police said both men left the scene without checking on the injured or providing information to authorities.
The financial fallout for Knox now dwarfs what most former college athletes could hope to pay. Rice, who signed a four-year rookie contract worth roughly $7.4 million with the Chiefs, has deeper pockets and a stronger incentive to settle. Knox, whose football career stalled after SMU suspended him in the wake of the crash, faces a far steeper climb.
The crash unfolded on a Saturday in late March 2024. Dallas police allege Rice was driving 119 mph before impact and Knox was traveling at 116 mph, slowing to 91 mph just one second before the collision, as detailed in a civil lawsuit reported by Breitbart. The resulting pileup injured multiple people across the six vehicles involved.
Among the victims were Edvard Petrovskiy and Irina Gromova, who filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against both Rice and Knox. Their complaint alleged they suffered brain trauma, facial lacerations requiring stitches, bruises, and internal bleeding.
The lawsuit stated that Petrovskiy and Gromova were "severely injured by the tremendous force of the high-speed impact." It went further, alleging that both drivers knowingly fled while victims called for emergency help and tried to escape their destroyed vehicles.
"Despite innocent victims calling for emergency help and desperately trying to exit their destroyed vehicles in a state of shock, Defendants intentionally, knowingly evaded assisting injured commuters and absconded from the scene."
Rice's attorney, Texas state Sen. Royce West, later confirmed that Rice admitted to authorities he was driving the Lamborghini SUV. Knox is believed to have been driving the Corvette, the New York Post reported, citing Knox's identification by Dallas police as the second driver.
Dallas police issued arrest warrants for both men. Each faced one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and six counts of collision involving injury. Rice turned himself in and was released on bond. Knox was identified and suspended by SMU after the university learned of his arrest warrant.
SMU said in a statement that it "takes these allegations seriously." The school declined to offer further details on Knox's suspension, citing student privacy laws. Knox's attorney, Deandra Gant, told the Dallas Morning News that Knox had "cooperated fully with law enforcement."
Both men ultimately pleaded guilty. Each received 30 days in jail and five years of probation for charges tied to the crash, Fox News reported. The criminal case resolved relatively quickly compared to the civil proceedings, which continue to generate new judgments against Knox.
High-profile criminal cases involving public figures often draw intense scrutiny over how courts handle bail, pretrial release, and sentencing. Similar questions about judicial decisions in serious cases have surfaced in matters like the controversy over a court's pretrial release decision in a teen's killing aboard a cruise ship.
The $2.88 million default judgment is the third such ruling against Knox from crash victims. A default judgment typically results when a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit or appear in court, allowing the plaintiff to win without a trial. For Knox, the accumulating defaults suggest he either lacks the resources to mount a defense or has chosen not to contest the claims.
The Daily Mail reported on the latest judgment, underscoring the widening gap between Rice's and Knox's post-crash trajectories. Rice, still on an NFL roster, has financial means Knox does not.
Rice issued a statement through his attorney acknowledging the harm he caused.
"I've had a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole."
Whether "made whole" extends to Knox's victims remains an open question. Collecting on a default judgment against a defendant with limited assets is often far harder than winning the judgment itself. Investigators and courts will need to determine the full scope of Knox's financial exposure as additional victims may still pursue claims.
The NFL suspended Rice for six games under its personal conduct policy. Despite the pending charges at the time, Chiefs coach Andy Reid allowed Rice to participate in the team's voluntary offseason program in April 2024. Reid was careful not to get ahead of the legal process.
The Washington Times reported that Reid declined to say whether Rice would later take part in on-field work, telling reporters he was deferring to law enforcement.
"I'm leaving that like we've done most of these: just for the law enforcement part of it to take place."
Reid's measured approach reflects the awkward position NFL teams occupy when star players face serious criminal allegations. The league's personal conduct policy gives the commissioner broad discretion to impose discipline, and Rice's six-game suspension landed within the range typical for off-field incidents involving violence or reckless conduct.
Accountability questions in cases involving prominent figures extend well beyond sports. Readers following how institutions respond to allegations against public figures may recall serious accusations leveled against a sitting congressman that tested the boundaries of institutional response.
Rice and Knox were college teammates at SMU before Rice's NFL career took off. They now share criminal records, guilty pleas, and probation terms. But the similarities end there.
Rice returned to an NFL locker room. Knox lost his spot on a college roster. Rice has the earning power to negotiate settlements. Knox is stacking default judgments he may never be able to pay.
The victims, meanwhile, are left navigating a system where winning in court does not guarantee compensation. Brain trauma, internal bleeding, and facial lacerations do not heal on a court's timeline. The civil cases grind forward, but the people who were simply driving on U.S. 75 that Saturday are the ones still carrying the physical cost.
When reckless conduct causes serious harm on public roads, the legal system's response matters. The same principle applies whether the case involves street violence that claims young lives or luxury cars turned into weapons by speed. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether additional civil claims remain pending against either driver.
Three default judgments and counting. Thirty days in jail apiece. And victims still waiting to be made whole. The legal system gave its answer. Whether it was enough is a question the facts answer for themselves.
