Swimsuit beauty’s $2M smash up suit

Now she's rich and beautiful.

A Manhattan jury has awarded Sports Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen $2 million for injuries she sustained in a Midtown car crash 2 1/2 years ago.

The Danish delight said she suffered "severe personal injuries, both temporary and permanent" that harmed her skyrocketing career when she was injured in a three car crash in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 2001.

The jury returned the verdict on Wednesday, following a two day trial before Manhattan Supreme Court justice Ira Gammerman. In court papers, Andersen said she had just left the downtown hot spot Moomba at 2:30 a.m. and was riding up Sixth Avenue in the back seat of a friend's Range Rover when a Transit Authority cleaning truck smashed into them, pushing their SUV into a cab.

Andersen suffered a broken pelvis and ankle.

The jury awarded $1 million for past lost earnings, and $600,000 for future lost earnings. They also ordered the two drivers to pay her $200,000 for past pain and suffering and another $200,000 for future pain and suffering.

May Andersen's attorney was Kim Higgins Townsend

Written by: Dareh Gregorian, New York Post, Page 3, June 13, 2003

Photo: May Andersen with her mother and her attorney, Kim Higgins Townsend, in front of the courthouse on June 12, 2003.