The parents of a passenger who died during a police pursuit of the stolen car he was riding in filed a motion for leave to settle their wrongful death claims for $160,000.
“Plaintiff and the attorneys retained believe the offer is a reasonable settlement of the action for damages for the wrongful death of the decedent and that it is in the best interests of the next of kin that the offer be accepted and the defendants be released from any further financial liability,” the motion states.
The settlement motion also seeks approval of $53,333.33 in attorneys fees and $1,026.18 in court costs.
Attorney Jarrod Beasley filed the motion on Feb. 14 on behalf of Dennis and Patsy Hagopian, who are acting as administrators of the estate of Brandon Hagopian.
If the court approves the settlement request, the plaintiffs seek to dismiss with prejudice the Village of Pontoon Beach and officers Todd Irvin and William Tracy.
The lawsuit was originally filed by attorney Ryan Sweet of Edwardsville on behalf of the Hagopians in Madison County Circuit Court on Jan. 14, 2022.
According to the complaint, Brandon Hagopian was the front seat passenger of a silver Mercury Grand Marquis on May 30, 2021, shortly after midnight. The suit states that the vehicle had unknown registration and was being driven by an unidentified white male. However, news reports and court documents from the incident state that John Shea was the driver and was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle.
Sweet argued in the lawsuit that Collinsville police officer Josh Fields observed the vehicle entering a parking lot of the Circle K Gas Station on Vandalia Street. The rear license plate was not illuminated, so Fields activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop due to the equipment violation.
The complaint stated that the driver did not respond to Fields' attempt and instead continued northbound on Vandalia Street, taking the Interstate 55/70 southbound exit ramp. Fields terminated the attempted traffic stop and allegedly put out a request for an ISPERN broadcast. He allegedly turned around and returned to Collinsville.
At 12:12 a.m., Irvin received the ISPERN broadcast that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on Interstate 55 southbound passing under Interstate 255.
Sweet wrote that Irvin advised Tracy to respond to Highway 111 towards Interstate 55/70 in case the driver traveled northbound on Highway 111. Tracy was allegedly advised to sit at the entrance to Horseshoe Lake State Park with Stop Sticks and to deploy them if the driver fled.
“Pursuit intervention is an attempt to terminate the ability of a suspect to continue to flee in a motor vehicle through tactical application of technology, road spikes, blocking, boxing, PIT (Police Immobilization Technique), ramming, heading off, or roadblock procedures,” the suit stated.
“Spikes or tack strips are a device that extends across the roadway designed to puncture the tires of the pursued vehicle,” it continued.
Irvin allegedly went to the area of Highway 111 at Sand Prairie Lane in Pontoon Beach, where he observed the vehicle traveling northbound towards his location. He activated his red and blue lights in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop.
The driver sped up and started to flee northbound on Highway 111, which is a two-lane road with a posted speed limit of 50 miles per hour near the entrance of Horseshoe Lake State Park. The stolen vehicle allegedly reached a speed of 99 miles per hour and eventually ran over the deployed Stop Sticks deployed. The vehicle allegedly then struck a tree, ejecting Hagopian.
Hagopian was transported to Saint Louis University Hospital and was pronounced dead at 1:16 a.m. due to blunt force trauma to his head, torso and extremities, the suit states.
Sweet claimed the defendants improperly initiated the pursuit from another jurisdiction, which “exposed Brandon Hagopian to a risk of serious injury or death.”
He also wrote the circumstance was not serious enough to continue the pursuit and that the officers had no regard for the safety of the occupants in the fleeing vehicle.
Sweet argued that the officers failed to discontinue the pursuit, improperly used a forcible stop technique at high speeds and improperly used a disproportionate amount of force, “thereby exposing Brandon Hagopian to a risk of serious injury or death.”
Sweet asserted that the defendants were the ones who placed Hagopian in “circumstances that endangered his life or health.”
“Such conduct demonstrates a failure, after knowledge of impending danger, to exercise ordinary care to prevent the danger,” Sweet wrote.
According to court documents, Shea was later charged with reckless homicide, offenses relating to motor vehicles and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer on Sept. 17, 2021.
In addition to the charges relating to the May 30 incident, Shea's criminal history shows he has been charged with offenses ranging from theft, possession of meth, possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing police.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-57