City of Beaumont to pay for officer’s negligence in car wreck

What happens when a city employee – in this case a police officer – causes a serious car crash while on the job?  The city – and the taxpayers – end up footing the bill for the employee’s negligence.  Unfortunately for the family of the crash victim, compensation from a local government is often lower than what they would receive in a case against a private individual with auto insurance.

In this recent case a Beaumont police officer blamed for seriously injuring a teen driver is going to cost the city of Beaumont big bucks.  In May 2008 Beaumont Police Officer Lance Carmouche slammed head-on into Macy Brocato.

According to investigators Carmouche was traveling at a very high rate of speed when the accident happened at the intersection of Major Drive and Westfield Lane.  Macy was headed south on Major and was making a left turn onto Westfield when she crashed into Carmouche.

Carmouche claimed to be driving 75 miles per hour when he hit Macy – 15 miles above the 60 mph limit – but his GPS device showed that he got up to 81 mph just before the impact.  He was also driving without his warning lights or sirens, so Macy would not have known she needed to get out of his way.

The total jury award for Macy was $155,348.33 after they determined that Carmouche was 80 percent to blame for the wreck.  The award includes $25,000 for future medical expenses, $87,500 for Macy’s past and future mental anguish, and $36,000 for her physical impairment.  Macy’s parents also received $6,848.33 to pay for her past medical expenses.