Is Police Liable for a Car Accident As a Result of a High-Speed Chase ?

In Suwanski v. Village of Lombard, 342 Ill. App. 3d 248, 794 N.E.2d 1016, 276 Ill. Dec. 766 (2003), a suburban police officer was involved in a high-speed chase through several different suburbs which resulted in the fleeing vehicle colliding with the plaintiff's vehicle. Evidence in the case included the relevant police pursuit policy which was ignored by the officer and testimony that another police officer from another municipality wisely terminated her pursuit. Plaintiff also introduced evidence from an expert to the effect that termination by the defendant officer would have avoided the fatal collision. This court held that a pursuit of an eluding vehicle through various residential and commercial streets could result in injury to some third person, a consequence which the pursuing officer could have been found to reasonably anticipate. Suwanski, 342 Ill. App. 2d at 256.