Two people are dead, and two others seriously injured, following a reckless and lengthy high-speed police chase in Atlanta.
The chase began when a Georgia State Patrol officer tried to stop a speeding Saturn northbound on the Buford Highway. Rather than pull over, the driver made an immediate U-turn onto the southbound side and accelerated down the road with the police car in close pursuit. “He was flying, absolutely flying,” according to witness K.J. Allison. The chase continued onto Clairmont Road towards Interstate 85, and the officer was able to stop the Saturn near the on-ramp. The driver initially appeared to surrender, when the officer left his vehicle, the Saturn accelerated northbound on the southbound side of Interstate 85.
The Saturn eventually slammed head-on into an Infinity G37, driven by Lisa Jackson, of Alpharetta. She was rushed to a nearby hospital along with a backseat Saturn passenger. The two occupants in the front died at the scene.
Limiting High Speed Police Chases
Already this year, there have been several innocent people injured or killed on Georgia roads following high-speed police chases; in fact, five people were killed in separate incidents during just one week in January. In response, Senator Gail Davenport (D-Jonesboro) and five other lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 414, which would prohibit police pursuits unless the suspect was known to be wanted for a serious felony or there was “an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to another person or a substantial threat to the safety of another person.”
In support of the proposal, Sen. Davenport specifically cited an earlier incident in College Park, in which a grandmother and her grandchildren were killed on their way home from church after a fleeing suspect, who had run a stop sign in a stolen vehicle, crashed into their vehicle at the end of a 10-mile pursuit.
Negligence Issues
The first part of S.B. 414 is highly restrictive, but the escape clause about a “substantial threat to the safety of another” could apply in almost any situation, because running a stop sign or failing to use headlights arguably fall into this category.
But violation of a policy, like S.B. 414, can be evidence of negligence. Furthermore, many times the dispatcher will issue a command like “do not pursue” or “pursue with caution.” Unfortunately, most jurors rarely second-guess officers who make judgement calls that have at least some rational basis.
In many high-speed chases, reckless indifference may be a better argument. Officers obviously have a great deal of immunity in these cases, as they must not obey the speed limit or yield to other traffic. But this immunity is not unlimited, and if the jury determines that the risk-reward was clearly imbalanced, such as the high-speed and reckless pursuit of a stolen vehicle during busy daylight hours, the police department could be found liable for damages.
Contact an Aggressive Attorney
For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Fayetteville, contact the Wade Law Offices. After hours and hospital visits are available.
