A traffic accident involving a Baltimore City Fire Truck that left three people dead in December of 2007 has finally been resolved by the City. On Wednesday May, 9th, The City's Board of Estimates voted unanimously to give relatives of the victims $40,000 to split, as well as awarding a combined $300,000 in two other cases regarding City vehicles.
The accident occurred early on a Sunday morning when a fire truck was responding to a call about smoke in an apartment building that turned out to just be burning food. According to Police at the time, the fire truck failed to stop or even slow down as it approached a red light at the intersection of Clarks Lane and Park Heights Avenue, colliding with a car that was crossing through the intersection. Even though the truck had it's siren and lights on, the State of Maryland requires all emergency vehicles to stop at red lights to make sure they are clear before passing through.
The accident killed Mikhail Petrov, 35, his wife Iryna, 49, and their friend Igor Saub, just 24. Of note is the relatively low financial reparation considering the tragedy in question. $40,000 is the maximum amount of money that the City can award in cases involving police or fire fighters responding to an emergency at the time of the accident. Attorney Alex Poboresky says that the families have received additional funds from their insurance company, but would not disclose how much.
Criminal charges were not filed against the driver of fire truck, as the state does not recognize gross negligence by police or fire fighters that are responding to emergency calls.
The other two cases settled by the City on Wednesday featured much higher payouts even though the results of the accidents were not as extensive. Paris Butler has been granted $200,000 by the City for being hit by a municipal vehicle and suffering "extensive injuries" while waiting at a bus stop. The driver of that vehicle was deemed to have passed out or been asleep at the time of the accident. Timothy O. Morgan received $100,000 for another accident with municipal vehicles, but details regarding that situation are limited.
What makes this story so interesting is the $40,000 cap set on settlements involving vehicles that are responding to an Emergency. It is understandable that the City would offer some sort of legal immunity to the drivers or emergency response vehicles preventing them from being charged criminally, but there is no obvious reason why there would also be a financial cap associated with these cases.
There is no question that a fire truck responding to an emergency is more dangerous than a normal municipal vehicle. But the city acknowledges that the drivers have been instructed to stop at all red lights to determine that the intersection is clear before going through it. The Police determined that the driver failed to do this, and that led to the deaths of three individuals. It feels incongruous that the victims of a far more serious incident are receiving a substantially smaller settlement just because the City has restrictions in place that without explanation of their intent, seem unnecessary.
Details of the settlement from the Baltimore Sun.
