City of Sarasota settles lawsuits for $150K after police crash injures passengers

Sarasota city officials will settle two lawsuits for $150,000 after an officer crashed into a car in 2021 with an "excessive rate of speed" causing the passengers to be injured, according to court documents.

Sarasota city commissioners held a special closed meeting April 17 and in a unanimous vote accepted two settlement proposals, according to recorded video from the end of the session and court documents filed the next day.

Assistant City Attorney Joe Mladinich said the settlement proposals were for $110,000 and $40,000.

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Haley Jay, of Sarasota, and Nicholas Charles Tovar, of Maricopa County, Arizona, each sued the city for damages exceeding $30,000.

According to the two complaints, in cases that were consolidated into one, Jay and Tovar were passengers in a 2001 Honda CRV on March 30, 2021, that was traveling westbound on Main Street in Sarasota when it slowed to turn left across the double yellow lines into an open parking spot.

Sarasota Police Officer Julius Gonzalez was driving in a police vehicle heading west behind the Honda CRV, according to one complaint. Gonzalez “switched lanes to his left thereby driving on the wrong side of the road at an excessive rate of speed” and hit the Honda CRV as it turned into the parking spot. The complaint notes that the emergency lights on the police car were not on during the time of the accident.

Mladinich said the officer was responding to an emergency call he'd just received, and that was why he was driving at an excessive speed. Mladinich added the officer was about to turn on his emergency lights when the accident happened.

"When officers respond to an emergency, they're allowed to exceed the speed limit, and they're allowed to do things that would otherwise be against the law when responding to an emergency, but they still have to be careful and if they cause an accident, they're still at fault," Mladinich said.

Mladinich said that when the officer was approaching the car and saw its red brake lights, he thought the car was stopping to allow him to pass. The officer hadn't anticipated that the car would turn across the double yellow line, which prohibits drivers from turning across the line.

Both Jay and Tovar claim they sustained serious and permanent injuries from the accident, with Jay’s complaint adding that some of the injuries are ongoing and will continue to affect her in the future.

In Tovar’s initial complaint, additional exhibits stated Tovar, then 23, went to the American Family Care Urgent Care the following day after the accident, complaining of lower back, right shoulder, and neck pain, as well as a tight feeling due to the crash. On April 9, 2021, Tovar went to a chiropractor and again listed several areas of pain and numbness in his right arm. He went to several more specialists, each time listing several areas of pain.

Attorneys for Tovar and Jay declined to comment and did not return calls to comment when a Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporter called their offices.

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Mladinich said the case was an example of comparative negligence, as there were factors by both parties that played a role in the accident.

Comparative negligence is when each party involved in an accident is assigned a certain percentage of fault when there isn't a sole perpetrator. If a case goes to trial, the jury usually decides what percentage of the fault lies with either party. Then, each party only pays the degree of fault for which they're found guilty.

In this case, the Honda CRV driver was turning left across double yellow lines, while the officer didn't turn on his emergency lights and sirens while he was speeding to indicate there was an emergency.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota settles lawsuits for $150K after officer crashes with car