CROWN POINT -- A teenage girl scarred for life in an auto wreck has been awarded $1.4 million, a figure believed to be a record in Indiana.

Jamicia Glass, now 20, was a 15-year-old freshman at Wirt High School in Gary when the car she was a passenger in smashed into the rear of an Indiana Department of Transportation dump truck on U.S. 12 in Gary on April 30, 1998.

While her medical bills were $5,000, her attorney, Kenneth J. Allen, attributed the large verdict to the scars that raked Glass' face and have left her disfigured for life.

"This had a dreadful impact on the years that we'd like to think are some of the best in our lives," Allen said Friday. "She had to transfer from Wirt to (Gary) West Side; children are sometimes cruel, even teenagers, and there were a lot of emotional problems at Wirt."

He said the amount "is a record so far as we can tell in a scarring case."

In a four-day trial before Lake County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo, the jury heard that Glass was a rear-seat passenger in a car driven by Robert Chamberlain, a fellow student at Wirt, and that five friends were going to lunch from the school.

The car became stuck in traffic, and Chamberlain pulled into an outside lane to get around the jam and smashed into the rear of the truck. Glass, who was not wearing a seat belt, was flung from the rear of the car through the windshield.

Rear-seat passengers are not required by Indiana law to wear a seat belt.

During the trial, Allen said evidence was presented that showed INDOT workers had not set warning cones, lights and signs out to warn motorists of the parked truck in a traffic lane, which is in violation of departmental regulations.

Chamberlain, who also was sued, settled with Glass and her parents for $50,000, the maximum his policy carried. That amount will be subtracted from any amount paid by INDOT.

The money, once collected, will go toward cosmetic surgery, Allen said.

"She's still a beautiful girl, don't get me wrong. She is a beautiful person," Allen said. "But she had wanted to go into retailing, and there is certainly a correlation between the way we look and our ability to sell things. Now, her life goals have changed."

Allen said Glass is planning to study to be a medical technician.

"Until now, she has spent most of her time at home" with her parents, James and Regina Glass, he said. They also were awarded $65,000 as part of the overall verdict.

Mark Kiesling can be reached at markk@nwitimes.com or (219) 662-5330.