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Wallace, 32, of Sandusky died after his motorcycle collided with a state police cruiser the night of Sept. 1, 2005, in Watertown Township south of Sandusky. Trooper Fred Sweeney, then assigned to the Sandusky Post, was north bound on M-19 and turning left into the parking lot of Summit Power Center when the police car was struck by the south bound motorcycle.

Wallace never regained consciousness after the crash. He was pronounced dead a few hours later at Hurley Hospital in Flint.

"This was the largest verdict against Michigan State Police in their history. It was also a record verdict for a Sanilac County death case," stated Colleen Wallace's attorney, John Paterson of Sandusky.

The judge broke the $4,430,090 award down as follows:

*Funeral and burial expense $8,600;

*Present value of economic loss $2,406,388;

*Present value of non-economic loss $2,00,000;

*Pre-judgement interest on past economic and non-economic loss $15,102.

Teeple also ordered that Colleen Wallace was entitled to taxable costs.

This closes the court of claims case. Colleen Wallace also has a separate civil complaint pending against the trooper. That case has been appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals by Sweeney, who is claiming governmental immunity.

The state acknowledged negligence in the accident the day before the non-jury civil trial was scheduled to begin July 24 in Sanilac County Circuit Court. With the issue of liability settled, the trial focused on claims for economic and non-economic losses on the part of Colleen Wallace of Sandusky, representative of her late husband's estate who filed the lawsuit against the state police.

Michael Wallace left a daughter, Cady, by his wife Colleen, and a son, Alec by a previous relationship. Colleen was approximately eight months pregnant with daughter Riley at the time of his death.