Missouri Law Firm Car Accident Lawyer: St. Louis Man Steals Car, Crashes in Dunklin County, Missouri Seriously Injuring a Teenager; Missouri Uninsured Motorist Claim Likely
In an effort to bring public awareness of Missouri car accidents, our law firm and lawyers regularly post information about car and truck crashes throughout the State. While most of these Missouri car wrecks are caused by negligence, some, like the one we report here, are caused by deliberate actions.
Earlier today, Antuan L. Madison, 31 of St. Louis, Missouri stole a 2000 Ford Taurus from Kennett, Missouri when the Clarkton, Missouri Police officer identified the vehicle as being stolen. The officer began pursuit of the suspect, which ended in a horrific car accident and serious personal injuries in Clinton County, Missouri. Mr. Madison crashed head on into a 1995 Ford Ranger truck, operated by seventeen year old Chase D. Winder. Mr. Madison was driving north on Highway 62, crossed into the southbound lane occupied by Mr. Winder.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, both drivers sustained serious personal injuries and were taken by ambulance to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis, Tennessee. At this time, no criminal charges have been filed.
According to police, the stolen vehicle was insured by Hartford insurance company. However, it is questionable whether there will be car insurance coverage since the Taurus was stolen. In that case, Mr. Winder will be able to make a claim for uninsured motorist coverage against his own insurance company, State Farm Mutual Insurance Company.
In Oberkramer v. The City of Ellisville, 706 S.W.2d 744 (Mo. Sup.Ct. 1986), the Missouri Supreme Court considered whether the survivors of a person who was killed while police gave chase to a traffic violator could maintain a wrongful death cause of action against the municipality that employed the officers.
The Missouri Supreme court made clear in that opinion the negligence of police officers cannot be premised upon that of the pursued vehicle. Instead, negligence must be predicated upon the actions of the officers giving chase.
In Missouri, a police officer is confronted with two standards of duty. First, the officer has the obligation to apprehend the traffic violator and prevent him from doing any harm to innocent users of the highway. Second, an officer has the obligation to pursue the traffic violator in a manner that is neither careless, reckless, or wanton.
In that Supreme Court case, the plaintiffs alleged that the officer was negligent in attempting to stop a vehicle that was increasing the danger on the roadway. However, the Court stated police officers have a right to use whatever means necessary to make an arrest and unless they exceed proper and rational bounds, or act in a negligent, careless or wanton manner, they are not liable for damages sustained, even by innocent parties. In that case, the plaintiffs plead no acts of negligence on the part of the police officers. As such, the proximate cause of the accident was not the manner in which the officer drove his police vehicle but rather the manner in which the pursued traffic violator drove his vehicle. As such, the Court dismissed the lawsuit.
Because of this former ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court, it appears there would be no basis for a lawsuit against the officer for giving chase to this vehicle. However, further investigation would need to be performed to determine all aspects of liability.
