The son of a woman killed in a collision with a stolen police car has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The suit is being filed by Reginald Quarles, who claims that his mother, Maxsimillion Quarles, was killed after Ricky Raper stole a police car and crashed into her vehicle.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred on October 3, 2012 after Raper attempted to board a bus at about 8:15 a.m. but refused to pay the fare. The lawsuit states that East St. Louis police officer Rodell Andrews was called to the scene, where he parked his squad car but did not turn off the ignition or lock the doors.
According to the complaint, Andrews approached Raper, who appeared to be impaired by alcohol or drugs. The lawsuit claims that Andrews allowed Raper to leave the bus, after which Raper stole the police vehicle and violently collided with two vehicles, including Quarles’ Mercury Sable.
Andrews, Raper and the city of East St. Louis are named as defendants.
The lawsuit accuses Andrews of negligently failing to remove the keys from the ignition and lock the car doors, among other negligent acts. It further accuses the city of East St. Louis of failing to implement a procedure for preventing the theft of police cars and of failing to train its employees to follow protocol, among other negligent acts.
The lawsuit seeks a judgment of over $1.15 million.
Paul Greenberg is a work injury lawyer and workers compensation attorney in Chicago with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To read more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.
