Campaign After Woman Was Killed by Police Cruiser Leads to Change in VA Law

7/30/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
Comments (0)

Campaign After Woman Was Killed by Police Cruiser Leads to Change in VA Law

When Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Ashey's Law, family members of the young woman for whom the legislation is named must have felt a world away from the icy February day in 2008 when Ashley McIntosh was killed by a speeding police cruiser at intersection of Boswell Avenue and Route 1 in Fairfax County, VA. McIntosh, who was a 33-year-old teaching assistant, was soon to be married when the cruiser hit her vehicle. The officer behind the wheel had not turned on the cruiser's flashing lights or siren when going to respond to an emergency call.

Following the fatal accident, McIntosh's family launched a campaign to require all drivers of emergency response vehicle to operate lights and sirens when running a red light. That effort yielded Ashley's Law, which also requires all police cars, fire trucks and ambulances that do not have their flashers and sirens going must yield right-of-way at intersections.

McIntosh's mother also succeeded in winning a a wrongful death settlement from Fairfax County for $1.5 million, despite the local government's claim that it had sovereign immunity and could not be sued for the actions of its employees who were doing county business. An appeals court judge ruled that the police officer's gross negligence made the county potentially liable. Although every case is different, even police officers are not above the law when lives are wrecked.

See this video about Ashley's Law.

As experienced Virginia accident injury attorneys, we welcome this change in the rules for how emergency responder drive. Although accidents involving emergency vehicles are rare, they can be devastating when they do occur because emergency vehicles are often traveling at high speeds. Instances such as police chases that lead to accidents and injuries can raise a complex set of questions as to who is liable.

Although taking legal action against police officers or other city employees and agencies can be daunting, the Ashley's Law case demonstrates it is possible to see justice done in the wake of a tragedy and to bring about a change in the law. We know this from experience. In 2008 our VA personal injury attorneys helped win a $1.5 million settlement for a husband and wife who were riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle when they were hit and seriously injured by a police officer operating a marked police cruiser.

DM

Category: Car Accident Lawyers & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Labels: accident ambulance Ashley’s Attorney Cooper Crash cruiser emergency Fairfax fatal fire Governor injury intersection law lawsuit lawyer light lights personal Police red sirens VA Virginia

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia Beach, VA-based injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and we have handled thousands of car accident, truck wreck, and motorcycle crash cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself.

We've handled car accident cases throughout Virginia including Richmond, Fairfax, Alexandria, and the Hampton Roads region including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Suffolk.

Our primary office is in Virginia Beach at the intersection of Diamond Springs Road and Northampton Boulevard. We also have an office on Eaton Street in Hampton. All of our accident injury attorneys were raised in Virginia and have deep roots with the community.

Our Virginia injury law firm has been recognized as one of the best injury law firms in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report since 2010. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed on the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Rick and Jim were named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in Virginia.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us at 1-800-752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you shortly.

There are no comments.

Search Our Site

Get help Now!

Practice Areas

Campaign After Woman Was Killed by Police Cruiser Leads to Change in VA Law

Post a comment