Driver Injured in Hit-and-Run Files Suit Against City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco, September 6, 2006 – In San Francisco County Superior Court, a lawsuit (case no. CGC-06-455853) was filed against the City and County of San Francisco on behalf of Vernon Crowder, who became a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic as a result of a hit-and-run accident that occurred during an alleged police pursuit.
"This is a tragic injury. Vernon's paralysis is the result of an undercover police patrol vehicle pursuing a suspect in a negligent and careless manner and without regard for the safety of others using the roadway," said Cynthia McGuinn, Crowder's attorney and a senior trial lawyer at The Veen Firm. "They pursued a suspect in a car chase through the streets of San Francisco without sounding their siren and then covered up their involvement in causing and witnessing the accident."
On the evening on Aug. 9, 2005, a suspect was performing "doughnuts" and "burnouts" in a 1984 El Camino. At that same time, two policemen in an unmarked police vehicle witnessed the activity and flashed the unmarked car's red lights to direct the suspect to stop his vehicle. The driver did not stop and proceeded southbound on Third Street. The unmarked police car followed but did not use its siren.
Crowder was traveling in the westbound direction on Revere Avenue. As he entered the intersection of Revere Avenue at Third Street, his vehicle was struck by the suspect, traveling southbound on Third Street. The suit alleges the policemen in the unmarked car witnessed the collision.
Immediately following the collision, the suspect fled the scene of the accident and was later apprehended. The officers stayed at the scene and were soon joined by uniformed San Francisco Police Department traffic officers.
Following the incident, the suit also alleges that the San Francisco Police Department conspired to omit any reference to the involvement of the unmarked police car from the Traffic Collision Report written in response to the collision between Crowder and the suspect.
The suit also alleges that, at the time of the accident, the City and County of San Francisco had not adopted a written policy for the safe conduct of vehicular pursuits that meets the specified minimum standards set forth in California Vehicle Code § 17004.7(c), or if it had adopted a written policy, it was not in effect, had lapsed or was invalid on the date of the incident.
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