Canadian couple gets $9 million jury verdict in bike wreck

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Portland jury has awarded more than $9 million to a man and woman from Vancouver, British Columbia, who were struck by an 18-wheeler truck while biking single-file along Interstate 84.

The jury found Exel Inc. liable in the Aug. 3, 2016, collision and awarded the damages to Eric Moutal, who almost lost his left leg in the wreck, and his now-wife Andrea Newman.

The two decided to bike a short stretch along the interstate in the Columbia River Gorge to reach their campground when they were struck from behind.

An attorney for the trucking company argued that the two should not have been biking along such a busy highway.