EDWARDSVILLE — A Greene County woman is suing the city of Alton for injuries she alleges she sustained in a car accident when she was struck by a vehicle driven by an Alton police officer.
Diana Poe's suit, filed Sept. 6 in Madison County Circuit Court, also names The Alton Police Department and officer James Allen Hunt, alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, Poe was in her vehicle on Martin Luther King Drive in Alton on Nov. 30, 2018, when Hunt, operating a city-owned 2017 Ford Explorer, struck Poe's vehicle. The suit alleges Hunt was making a left turn in an intersection and failed to yield the right-of-way to the plaintiff's vehicle, causing the cars to collide and causing Poe to suffer multiple injuries.
Poe alleges the city breached its duty as Hunt was negligent in failing to yield the right-of-way, failing to reduce speed, failing to sound a warning, failing to obey traffic signals and failing to keep a proper lookout.
The lawsuit states the defendants also were negligent in operating the vehicle too fast, failing to properly maintain and repair the vehicle, failing to properly train and supervise employees, and that Hunt failed to maneuver his vehicle so that he didn't cause it to collide with the plaintiff's vehicle.
The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $50,000, alleging she sustained injuries to her body as well as the loss of a normal life. She also seeks court costs and other relief. She is represented by attorneys Andrea D. McNairy and Lisa Tsacoumangos of Brown & Crouppen PC in St. Louis.
Madison Circuit Court Case number: 2019 001282