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Driver sues officer, others in 2013 crash
YOUNGSTOWN
A driver seriously injured during a police pursuit of car-theft suspects two years ago has sued the pursuing police officer, the Coitsville Township trustees and the police department.
The injured driver, Renee McConnell, of Hubbard; her husband, Paul; and her four daughters filed the complaint, alleging that Officer Donald Dudley’s negligence during his pursuit of car-theft suspects led to the Sept. 18, 2013, crash at McGuffey Road and Lansdowne Boulevard on Youngstown’s East Side.
McConnell suffered “extreme and permanent physical injuries” in the crash, the suit said.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $25,000 in damages and demands a jury trial, was filed earlier this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and assigned to Judge Shirley Christian.
Instead of apprehending the theft suspects when they unhitched the purportedly stolen car they were towing, Dudley pursued them at speeds in excess of 75 mph, failing to activate his lights or sirens and running a red light before colliding with McConnell’s car, the suit said.
After her car was overturned by the impact, McConnell spent 22 days in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, suffering 17 rib fractures, multiple spinal fractures, a collapsed lung, visual impairments and a host of other injuries, the complaint said.
“Defendants were negligent, willful, and/or wanton in their hiring policies and/or training of Officer Dudley,” the complaint said.
By failing to use his emergency sirens while driving in excess of 75 mph and running a red light, Officer Dudley violated Coitsville’s pursuit policy, the complaint says.
Coitsville Township officials could not be reached to comment. Gina Bricker, an assistant county prosecutor, declined to comment.
The county prosecutor’s office represents townships in legal matters.