 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
STAUDINGER v. BARRETT6/28/1988
s turned south on Hattertown Road in Newtown. Hattertown Road is straight for about one quarter mile and
then becomes hilly and winding. Both vehicles were traveling at fifty to fifty-five miles per hour; Barrett believed that the posted speed limit was twenty-five miles per hour. Barrett estimated that, on Hattertown Road, he never got closer to the El Camino than 90 to 100 feet, although, according to two witnesses, the two vehicles were seen on Hattertown Road to be only one or two car lengths apart. Because Barrett lost sight of the El Camino, he did not see the accident. The El Camino had rounded a curve and struck a rock outcropping on the shoulder of the road, then careened across the road striking a utility pole and a stone wall before coming to rest. The crash killed the plaintiff's decedent, who was driving the car, and the three boys who were riding in the cargo area. There were two other boys riding in the passenger compartment with the driver. One was seriously injured and the other sustained only minor injuries.
At the time these events occurred, the Bethel police department had in place a policy governing high speed automobile chases. Under its guidelines, such chases
were discouraged unless absolutely necessary and were not to be predicated on misdemeanors or on motor vehicle violations except driving under the influence or evading responsibility with respect to an automobile accident in which serious physical injuries had been sustained. High speed pursuits were permitted in situations involving dangerous felonies. Such pursuits were to be avoided unless the police officer considered the person pursued to be such a clear and present danger to others as to offset the danger created by the speeding vehicles. Further, a high speed chase was to be terminated when the risk of accident surpassed the possibility of apprehending the person pursued.
The plaintiff brought this action alleging that the defendants Barrett and Connor had violated the Bethel police department's policy governing high speed chases, both in initiating the pursuit and in continuing it; that the defendant Bethel police chief, John Basile, was negligent in supervising his police officers and in enforcing the high speed pursuit policy; and that, since the defendants were acting in the scope of their employment, the town of Bethel was liable for their negligence.
The defendants denied they were negligent and, as a special defense, asserted that the proximate cause of the plaintiff's decedent's death was his own negligence in operating the vehicle after drinking alcoholic beverages and while his ability to drive was impaired, in driving at too high a rate of speed, in driving at excessive speeds to evade the police vehicle, in operating the car recklessly, in failing to keep a proper lookout, in failing to heed the police officers' warnings, in failing to keep his car under control, in failing to drive in an established lane of travel, in operating the vehicle with inadequate or defective brakes and/or failing to apply the brakes in a timely and proper manner, in refusing to stop or slow his vehicle when asked by the police to do so and in violating General Statutes 14-218a (traveling unreasonably fast), 14-230 (vehicle to be driven in the right hand lane), 14-219 (speeding), 14-235 (vehicle not to be driven on left side of highway on curve or upgrade) and 14-222 (reckless driving).
The jury returned a general verdict for the defendants. The plaintiff on appeal claims that the verdict was in error in one of two respects: either because the trial court erred in its charge on the chase policy or because it erred in refusing to direct a ver
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Connecticut DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|