Corboy & Demetrio Files Lawsuit for Family of Grandmother Killed in Police Chase
Corboy & Demetrio has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Chicago, the driver and the Chicago Police officers involved in police chase that resulted in the death of a grandmother who was going to pick up her granddaughter from day care when she was struck by a car that proceeded through a red light at an intersection.
The firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Estate of the woman, who had been standing on the sidewalk on the southeast corner at the intersection of 79th St. and Lafayette Ave. in Chicago around 6p.m. on May 10, 2018, when a car driven by Defendant Curtis Pugh, which was being pursued by Chicago Police, went through the intersection at a high rate of speed, fatally striking her.
The chase began when the first officer observed Pugh driving a rented vehicle. According to reports, the officer was suspicious that Pugh was committing a crime based on that fact. The officer attempted to pull over Pugh but Pugh drove away.
As a result, the officer initiated a police chase. A second officer was operating a police helicopter and heard the call of the chase. He tried to intercept Pugh’s vehicle in violation of the Chicago Police Department Order G03-03-03 when he failed to communicate his position to the pursuit units, allowing the chase to continue onto a busy highway where vehicular and pedestrian traffic were high and unnecessarily allowing the chase to continue.
A third officer on the ground was driving on 76th St. between Lafayette Ave. and State St., and witnessed Pugh driving after identifying his license plate. That officer activated his lights and siren and executed a U-turn continuing the chase after Pugh, in violation of the General Order because of the risk of danger.
During the pursuit, Pugh disregarded a traffic signal when he went through the intersection, killing the woman.