Jacksonville Police Officer Driving 98 Miles Per Hour When He Was in Traffic Accident That Killed 86 Year Old Man
A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) officer was chasing a person who had committed a traffic violation and reached 98 miles per hour before crashing into a truck driven by 86 year old Matthew Ogden, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Matthews Ogden was killed as a result of the crash. Whenever there is a crash in Jacksonville, Florida, a traffic homicide detective will conduct an investigation to attempt to determine how the accident occurred. The detective will examine the scene, the resting positions of the vehicles and the deceased, the skid marks, the damage to the vehicles and any other evidence that helps him/her reconstruct the accident.
In this case, the Florida Highway Patrol conducted the post-accident investigation and determined that the Jacksonville officer was driving more than double the 40 miles per hour speed limit. In the context of a wrongful death lawsuit, there are some serious questions that the Jacksonville officer may need to answer. For instance, according to the article, some of the witnesses indicated that the Jacksonville officer did not have his flashing lights activated during the chase and immediately before crashing into Matthew Ogden. If this is true, I am sure it is a violation of Jacksonville Sheriff's Office policy to engage in a high speed chase without alerting the other motorists with the flashing lights. Additionally, before deciding to chase other cars at such high speeds, police officers must make the decision to determine if the risk to other drivers outweighs the benefit of catching the suspect. In this case, where the suspect has merely committed a traffic violation, it is questionable that the suspect's apprehension warranted a high speed chase through traffic at 98 miles per hour. Even if the police officer decides to initiate a chase after a person who has violated the traffic laws, the police officer should make the decision to call off the chase for the safety of the public if the officer's and/or the suspect's speed gets too high and traffic becomes too congested.
