State police reach settlement from 2004 fatal accident
Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Arkansas State Police has agreed to a $ 250, 000 settlement over a 2004 fatal crash during a high-speed pursuit involving a state trooper.
The estate and heirs of Bridgett Denise Sing had sought $ 3. 5 million in connection with the June 18, 2004, crash in Fort Smith that killed the 20-year-old pregnant woman from Barling.
The State Claims Commission received a signed copy of the settlement Wednesday after attorneys for the state police and the Sing estate told the commission last week they had negotiated a settlement, said Norman Hodges, the commission director.
Robert Hyatt, 24, is serving a 50-year prison sentence after a Sebastian County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in February 2005 in the deaths of Sing and her unborn daughter, Allie. He also was convicted of first-degree battery in connection with the injuries Sing’s boyfriend, Johnny Gibbs, suffered in the same wreck.
Hyatt, who already was a twotime felon, was driving a stolen 1992 Honda Prelude and fleeing a pursuing state trooper south on U. S. 71 in south Fort Smith. Sing was driving a Honda Accord east on Brooken Hill Drive and crossing its intersection with U. S. 71 shortly before 1 a.m. when the Prelude ran the red light and broadsided her car. The Accord split in two, ejecting Sing and Gibbs. At trial, experts estimated the Prelude was traveling at 120 mph.
Sing’s estate and heirs filed a claim with the state Claims Commission in June 2006. They contended that the state was negligent because the trooper “instigated a high-speed chase for a license plate violation” and didn’t abandon the chase “at the appropriate time.” Under the settlement agreement, the state police denied that it or its officers “engaged in any wrongful, tortious or unlawful conduct of any kind.” For their part, Sing’s estate and heirs had a “desire to compromise and settle the action to avoid the costs and uncertainties of continued litigation.” The settlement agreement must be submitted for approval to the next regular session of the General Assembly before the claim can be paid. The General Assembly next meets in regular session beginning in January.
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