The latest on deadly police chase: Injured woman files lawsuit
LADY LAKE − The man fleeing police on Feb. 25, killing himself when he crashed into a car driven by a woman with two children passengers, did not have insurance, which has forced the injured woman to sue his estate and her own insurance company, according to records filed with the Lake County court clerk.
Sarah Dorsey, 43, has filed a lawsuit in circuit court against the estate of Thomas Conyers, 50, and Progressive Insurance. The suit claims Progressive refuses to acknowledge that she had uninsured motorist coverage.
The suit also states that she suffered permanent injuries, “pain and suffering of both a physical and mental nature, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, aggravation of an existing condition, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of the ability to earn money, and loss of ability to enjoy a normal life.”
The suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
Earlier coverage: Man killed in U.S. 441/27 crash had earlier been chased by Lady Lake police
Earlier coverage: One person killed, three others injured in vehicle crash in Fruitland Park
This is how the case started
Conyers, who also did not have a driver’s license, was fleeing Lady Lake Police after stealing $240 worth of merchandise from Home Depot at 871 U.S. 27/441, police said.
The tragedy was compounded, the Daily Commercial has learned, because prosecutors did not file timely charges against him in two Clermont thefts, so he had to be let out of jail without bond.
What does the dash cam video show?
News of the lawsuit comes at the same time as a public records request by the Daily Commercial for the dramatic dash cam video. The video shows a Lady Lake Police officer racing down the highway, then backing off a little while two other Lady Lake patrol cars tear down the highway. Within probably about four or five minutes, Conyers loses control, crosses onto the northbound lane and slams into Dorsey’s car at County Road 466A and U.S. 441 in Fruitland Park.
The camera was mounted in Lady Lake Officer Mark Austin’s marked patrol car. In his written report, said he was “right behind” Home Depot when he received the theft call at 4 p.m. Dash cam video appears to show him on Old Vineyard Road.
He is heard seeking information from dispatch about the suspect’s car when he approaches the intersection of Rolling Hills and U.S. 441.
“I got him,” he says, once he sees Conyer’s 2004 Hyundai Elantra.
“The subject changed the direction of his vehicle to a straightforward motion and headed directly toward my vehicle. I was afraid for my safety with the way the suspect headed toward me. I felt like he was going to strike my vehicle to flee apprehension," he wrote.
"I started to make a left evasive turn to avoid being struck," he continued. "The suspect mirrored my maneuver and I had to brake to stop to avoid striking the vehicle. Had I not performed my evasive maneuver mine and the suspect vehicles would have collided, which I believe was his intention.”
The next six minutes show a heart-pounding race down U.S. 441 south toward Fruitland Park.
It is difficult to hear over the noise of equipment rattling around inside the car on the bumpy road, but Austin wrote in his report that he advised Officer Andru Eckerdt that the driver should be charged with aggravated assault, a felony.
One officer, who was at Wawa, tossed stop sticks onto the highway. Conyers did not hit the sticks, which would have slowly deflated his tires.
Austin by that time said he was not chasing Conyers. The dash cam video clearly shows two other patrol cars ahead of him in hot pursuit.
Austin’s dash cam still showed him crossing the median into oncoming traffic, zipping between construction zone barrels, and speeding south to the site of the crash at County Road 466A.
He pulled up behind Conyers’ wrecked car. It had crossed into the northbound lane and struck Dorsey’s 2019 Kia Sportage. It was obvious to officers that Conyers had been killed instantly.
Fruitland Park also had dash cam video, but it shows little. The department was reluctant to release much, saying there were two juveniles in Dorsey’s car. Dorsey’s daughter and a friend, both 13, suffered minor injuries. All three were taken by helicopter to an Orlando hospital.
What happens next?
FHP has completed its initial investigation, but is now conducting a homicide investigation, which could take months. That report will include toxicology results and other information.
The initial report said Conyers “was fleeing from the Lady Lake Police Department and the Fruitland Park Department."
“We were not chasing,” Fruitland Park Chief Erik Luce told the Daily Commercial.
Lady Lake Chief Robert Tempesta issued an email response saying: “The Florida Highway Patrol is the lead agency on this case and has not yet completed their Traffic Homicide Investigation. We will review this incident in its entirety when the completed report becomes available.
On May 2, Tempesta announced that he was stepping down as chief after four years and returning to the rank of lieutenant. The town has named Steven W. Hunt, a native of Maine, now a resident of Eustis, as interim chief.
Hunt was a lieutenant in Bangor, Maine, and more recently a detective with the Florida Division of Financial Services.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lawsuit filed: Investigation continues into deadly police chase
