Indiana residents injured in wreck involving police officer file suit against city of Robinson

FILE PHOTO: City of Robinson Police Department patrol units
FILE PHOTO: City of Robinson Police Department patrol units(Robinson Police Dept. photo/file)
Published: Jul. 1, 2024 at 4:13 PM CDT

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Two Indiana residents seriously injured in a car crash with a Robinson patrol officer in March are suing the officer and the city of Robinson.

Sara Hanshew, of Anderson, Ind., and Phillip Kritsch, of Nineveh, Ind., are seeking more than $250,000 in damages from the city of Robinson and Robinson police officer Scott Dent in the lawsuit, filed in Waco’s 414th State District Court.

Dent and Robinson Police Chief Danny Smith did not return phone messages left at the Robinson Police Department. Robinson City Manager Craig Lemin declined comment on the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Hanshew and Kritsch were traveling southbound on the Interstate 35 service road in Hewitt on March 9 when Dent, driving a city patrol car, collided with their vehicle at the Sun Valley intersection.

The suit alleges Dent “failed to maintain a proper lookout, failed to yield the right-of-way and disregarded the red stop signal” before the collision. The suit also alleges Dent failed to activate emergency sirens.

“Plaintiffs would show that this collision (as well as their resulting injuries, damages and losses) were brought about to occur and were proximately caused by the negligence of the defendants,” the suit alleges. “As a result of the impact, plaintiffs have suffered severe injuries.”

The city of Robinson was negligent “in entrusting the vehicle to Scott Dent because Scott Dent was incompetent and unfit to safely operate a motor vehicle on the public streets and highways of Texas,” the lawsuit claims.

While the lawsuit states the couple underwent medical treatment and will continue to do so, the scope of their injuries was not specified. However, in a letter to the city from the Provost Umphrey law firm in Beaumont, the attorneys allege Dent ran a stop light and struck the couple’s vehicle, causing it to spin and strike a concrete barrier.

Hanshew suffered neck and back injuries, while Kritsch suffered a broken pelvis, broken vertebrae, a broken wrist and other injuries.

They are seeking damages for past and future physical pain and suffering, past and future mental anguish, lost wages, lost earning capacity, disfigurement and medical bills.