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Jury awards $24 million to widower in fatal cabana crash

A man whose pregnant wife was killed when a drunken driver plowed into a cabana at a Fort Lauderdale hotel was awarded millions of dollars Tuesday.

A Broward Circuit Court jury awarded Michael DeMella $24 million and assigned 15 percent liability — or $3.6 million — to the Riverside Hotel.

The verdict comes more than three years after a drunken driver crossed a sidewalk, jumped the curb and crashed into the poolside cabana, killing Alanna DeMella 26, and her unborn son, who was to be named Joshua.