Dallas Settles Lawsuit over Bait Car Death
DALLAS - The Dallas City Council decided to settle a two-year-old wrongful death lawsuit involving a stolen bait car designed to lure would-be thieves.
DALLAS - The Dallas City Council agreed on Wednesday to settle a two-year-old wrongful death lawsuit involving a stolen city vehicle, according to WFAA.com.
Anna Tovar Reyes, 83, was killed when a thief, driving a Dallas police "bait car," slammed into her.
The council has awarded $245,000 to the victim's family to settle the lawsuit, with funds coming from Dallas taxpayers and this year's city budget.
Dallas police dash cam video shows the car thief slamming right into Reyes after stealing the bait car designed to lure would-be thieves.
That city vehicle is equipped with GPS tracking systems, video cameras and a kill switch.
At issue in the lawsuit is why it took so long for police to disable that vehicle remotely. Police say from the time they spotted car thief at the wheel to the time they were remotely able to turn off the engine involved five computer steps, which took 27 seconds.
Lawyers representing the city saw enough liability to settle the lawsuit rather than fighting it in court, reports WFAA.com.
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