Baltimore County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Tentatively Settled

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Bonnie Pappas was killed January 8th when her car was broadsided by a police officer responding to a 911 call. Patrol officer Ray Pabon was traveling at least 85 mph without emergency lights or siren when he crested a hill and smashed into Pappas who was crossing Pulaski Highway.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but the family was seeking $1 million for Pappas' estate and $50 million for her children. Testimony during the investigation and a local store's surveillance tape reveled the first officer who responded to the accident ran to Papon's car and turned on his emergency lights.

Sue A. Schenning, a deputy state's attorney for Baltimore County, said prosecutors decided not to file automobile manslaughter charges against Pabon after determining there was not enough evidence to prove that the officer acted with gross negligence, a legal standard defined in Maryland as the conscious disregard for a high risk to others.

"In a situation like this, where the officer was responding to a call of domestic violence, that would mitigate the situation and prevent us from proving the highest level of negligence that we would need to prove," she said.

Read the full wrongful death lawsuit article.