Indianapolis Jury Awards $2.46M in Fatal Police Pursuit Crash

In December 2019, a couple was involved in a fatal collision in Lawrence, Indiana, while returning home from a medical appointment. The husband, driving their vehicle, proceeded into an intersection after his light turned green when their car was struck by a vehicle fleeing a high-speed police pursuit. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) had mistakenly identified the fleeing driver as a wanted suspect and initiated a 14-mile chase involving multiple law enforcement agencies. The pursuing officers received information suggesting they were chasing the wrong person but continued the pursuit. The fleeing driver, traveling at an estimated 80 mph and running a red light, collided with the couple's vehicle. The husband died from his injuries, while his wife sustained severe injuries, including fractured ribs and a fractured vertebra.

The surviving wife and the husband's estate filed a lawsuit against the City of Indianapolis, the City of Lawrence, the towns of McCordsville and Fortville, and Hancock County. The plaintiffs alleged reckless conduct in carrying out a dangerous and unnecessary police pursuit that disregarded the safety of innocent civilians. The plaintiffs settled claims with the Town of Fortville for $350,000, the Town of McCordsville for $85,000, and the City of Lawrence for $325,000. Additional payments of $100,000 came from the fleeing driver's insurer and $150,000 from the couple's underinsured motorist carrier. Claims against all defendants except the City of Indianapolis were subsequently dismissed.

The City of Indianapolis initially claimed immunity under the Tort Claims Act, a defense the court rejected. The city then argued that the crash and the plaintiffs' damages were caused by the superseding and intervening acts of the fleeing driver. After a five-day jury trial in Indianapolis, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs. The surviving wife was awarded $1,625,000, and the husband's estate received $825,000, plus $13,301 for burial and funeral expenses, totaling $2,463,301.

The court entered judgment for the awarded amount. The City of Indianapolis filed a post-trial motion to correct errors, seeking to reduce the award to a statutory cap and account for the amounts the plaintiffs previously received from other parties. The motion was pending at the time of the record review.