The Chicago City Council Wednesday approved a $3 million settlement for a woman who sustained permanent brain damage from a crash with a stolen van that was being chased by police. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/04/chicago-aldermen-approve-3-million-settlement-in-police-chase-crash.html
The settlement stems from an accident involving Regina Varela, who has cognitive problems because of the brain injury she sustained in the August 2004 accident. Varela, 17 at the time of the accident, was a passenger in a car traveling west on Addison Avenue. That car was struck broadside by a stolen van that ran a red light while being pursued by police.
The $3 million settlement will be given to Varela’s family.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a Chicago Law Department press release had said that the man driving the van, one of his passengers and a witness all said that the police had been pursuing the stolen vehicle for several blocks.
The police, however, maintained that they had only just started to pursue the stolen vehicle. They were punished for being out of their district without approval.
