Turini v. County of Suffolk

In Turini v. County of Suffolk, 8 AD3d 260 [2nd Dept., 2004] the court set forth that, contrary to contentions, conduct which violated provisions of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law relating to maximum rate of speed, lane-changing procedures, and other rules of the road did not, standing alone, render the operator of an emergency vehicle reckless or provide an independent basis for liability. It further stated that the reckless disregard standard for an action resulting from an automobile accident involving a police officer responding to an emergency requires evidence that the actor has intentionally done an act of an unreasonable character in disregard of a known or obvious risk that was so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow and has done so with conscious indifference to the outcome.