SAN ANTONIO - An out-of-control car swerves into your lane and hits you head-on. The police report shows the other driver was at fault, so damage to your car should be paid for, right? Not if the other driver is a police officer.
News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila looked into one woman's frustrating ordeal -- that could happen to you.
On May 18th of this year our Sky 4 chopper flew over the scene as two San Antonio police cars crashed into each other while rushing to a call on W.W. White Road. One of the officers cut in front of the other, and both police cruisers crossed over the median into oncoming traffic, where one of them slammed into Sandra Allen's SUV.
"There were helicopters, police, news people. Everybody was there", Sandra told us. "He just told me, 'Don't worry about it.' That the city would take care of it, because it's totally their fault."
Her 1999 Chevy Tahoe suffered front end and transmission damage that left it undrivable. But an officer on the scene told her not to worry, because the police report shows the accident wasn't her fault.
But three months went by, and the city sent Sandra a letter denying her claim.That would be the city's Risk Management department, which is overseen by Tina Southard. It would not pay the $3,500 to repair her SUV.
"That's not fair", Sandra told us. "If I ran over your truck, or your car, I've got to pay that claim. How come the city can't pay their claim? They hit me."
The reason the city gave for not paying up? A law that gives cities immunity, if one of their employees crashes into someone while responding to an emergency.
But it just didn't seem right that Sandra should be left holding the bag. So the Trouble Shooters went to see the people at the city who made that decision.
Jaie Avila asked Southard, "Why isn't the city going to pay for the damage to Ms. Allen's car?"
Southard replied, "Well in this instance, the accident occurred during the course of an emergency."
Southard says that special immunity protects the city from having to pay for Sandra's damages, even though the police car came into her lane and struck her car, and she did nothing wrong.
It looked like we were going to have to give Sandra some bad news. But after that interview, the Risk Manager's boss took a look at the case, and reversed the decision. She called Sandra and told her a check for the repairs is being sent out.
The lesson here: If you are hit by a city vehicle, and your claim is denied, ask for an appeal, or consult an attorney. If the employee who hit you is found to be negligent in some way, you could end up winning. Like Sandra eventually did.
