Lawsuit filed by estate of woman killed in crash with CMPD chase suspect
The City of Charlotte and two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers are being sued after a woman died in a crash two years ago.
Brittany Webb’s estate filed the lawsuit, alongside the two other people who were in the car with her at the time of the crash.
It happened on Jan. 3, 2022 on Statesville Road in north Charlotte.
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The driver who caused the crash, Bryan Franklin, was in a Jeep speeding away from Officers Earl and Lerlo when he slammed into the car Webb was riding in. Webb, a mother of two, died from her injuries a month later -- on Jan. 21.
The plaintiffs allege the officers shouldn’t have been chasing Franklin in the first place.
Court documents show Earl and Lerlo started chasing Franklin because he had a covered license plate. They said he failed to stop after they tried to pull him over several times, leading the officers on a chase through north Charlotte.
The lawsuit says the commanding officer told Earl and Lerlo to stand down and stop chasing Franklin, but they allegedly ignored his commands.
According to court documents, Franklin drove the wrong way down Statesville Avenue and crashed head-on at Riley Avenue into the car Webb was in. Two other people in the car were seriously hurt.
Franklin survived and was charged that night with felony flee to elude and driving while license revoked. Due to Webb’s death and one of the passenger’s injuries, he was also charged with second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
The attorney says the officers were suspended. Channel 9 has reached out to CMPD to see what their statuses are and if the department has a response to the lawsuit.
Webb’s family is suing for more than $100,000, claiming gross negligence and wrongful death.
The suit says the two officers should’ve known that “engaging in a high speed, rush-hour pursuit of the Jeep, for what they contended was a license tag violation, constituted a completely unacceptable and dangerous ‘pursuit risk.’”
CMPD’s chase policy says officers shouldn’t chase suspects unless its related to a crime dangerous to life or a “public harm.”
(WATCH BELOW: Chase involving troopers ends with crash in Mecklenburg County, witnesses say)
