Police officers are thought of as upstanding citizens, here to protect our wonderful city of Pittsburgh. However, police officers are human and they make mistakes. Such a mistake occurred in a nearby suburb when a Pennsylvania police officer rear-ended a man’s vehicle sending him into a nearby light pole and causing his untimely death. A lawsuit brought by the victim’s family alleged negligence.
After a thorough investigation and hearing, it was determined that the police officer was speeding excessively at the time of the fatal accident. To be exact, the police officer was traveling at 88 mph in a 35 mph zone when the officer then collided with the back of the man’s vehicle sending it into a nearby utility pole. The injuries the man sustained in the accident were too great and he did pass away because of them. The family sought both criminal and civil charges against the officer and the city.
The $1 million the family received is a small consolation to the loss of a loved one. However, the Pennsylvania city has agreed to apologize to the family. In addition, city police will adopt a new policy on pursuits and have more officer training. This will hopefully prevent tragic accidents like this fatal accident from ever happening again. It did not mention why the officer had reached speeds of over 88 mph at the time of the accident.
The family of the victim can reach some level of solace knowing the man’s death has been treated as a negligent accident. Hopefully the money will help loved ones financially during this tough time. While, there is no excuse for this kind of vehicular behavior, it does happen, as this family knows all too well. Car accidents are avoidable and should be treated as such.
Source: archive.yorkdispatch.com, “$1 million settlement reached in crash involving PA officer,” Nov. 15, 2015