The family of a 77-year-old Franklin County man that was struck and killed in a car crash in July of 2015 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the officer alleged to have been responsible for his death. The officer is believed to have been responding to a call to backup another officer immediately prior to striking the man’s car.
The police report prepared in this case highlights how the deputy sheriff in this instance drove his police car at speeds in excess of 100 mph. He had been called to back up another deputy who had detained a drunk driver right outside of Columbus at the time. Somewhere along his way, he collided with the decedent’s van, causing an impact that resulted in the man being ejected from his vehicle.
Prosecutors with the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case, but ultimately decided to not file criminal charges against the officer for the man’s death.
The decedent’s brother, who brought the wrongful death lawsuit, maintains that the officer not only drove his car at an excessive rate of speed, but did so without proper supervision. He maintains that his brother’s death was completely avoidable.
In this instance, the burden of proof falls on the decedent’s family members to show that the officer was negligent or reckless in the moments leading up to the man’s death. If the family and their Columbus wrongful death attorney are successful in doing that, then they may be able to recover funeral costs as well as other wrongful death damages in this case.
Source: U.S. News, “Family of driver hit by deputy files wrongful death lawsuit,” July 13, 2017