Prison release for millionaire owner of Porsche involved in crash which killed two Warwickshire businessmen

Aug 23 2009 by Nick McCarthy, Sunday Mercury

A statement from the Chicago prison authorities said: “Ryan Levin has been released from Shawnee Correctional Center.

“The offender has been paroled or placed on mandatory supervised release status.” Levin has since named friend Derek Cook, 37, as being behind the wheel on the night of the fatal smash, but police have not charged anybody.

Mr Watkinson, 48, a dad of three, from Harbury, near Leamington, and Mr Elford, 39, a father of two, from Ratley, Warwickshire, were both mown down just yards away from their Florida hotel.

The pair were in the US on a six-day trip to recruit employees for their pharmaceutical business, Ingala Healthcare, based in Stratford upon-Avon.

They died instantly. The cowardly driver fled from scene and dumped the £110,000 sports car.

The vehicle was seen racing another car along the beachfront before the fatal smash.

Both families have now filed civil lawsuits against LeVin and Cook.

Seth Miles, the Florida-based attorney of Craig Elford, told the Sunday Mercury that his family’s lawsuit alleges that LeVin was involved in the deaths by either driving the sports car or giving the keys to Cook.

Meanwhile, the family of Mr Watkinson have instructed US attorney, Jonathan Pavsner, who is also suing LeVin and Cook.

LeVin was raised in a mock Tudor mansion with its own ballroom. Parents, Arthur and Shirley, made millions from the company Jewels by Park Lane, based in Illinois.

They had earlier released a statement in which they expressed sympathy with the families, but added that they were handling the matter “in private”.