Family of girl hit by police car gets $10M
Phoenix has agreed to a $10 million settlement stemming from the critical injury in 2016 to a 3-year-old girl who was run over by a police cruiser as she walked across the street after buying ice cream.
Parties agreed the city would pay $7.2 million to the family of Vanessa Andrade, who was 3 years old when the crash occurred in a residential neighborhood near 72nd Avenue and Camelback Road.
The remaining $2.8 million will be footed by the city’s insurance policy, officials said.
The move was supported during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
“I think this is a compounded tragedy, both for the little girl, Vanessa, as well as the police officer who struck her,” said Patrick J. McGroder, an attorney who filed the lawsuit. “The family as well as our legal team are very appreciative of the way this case was handled by the city of Phoenix council.”
‘Look both ways’
The girl and her mother, Tania Andrade, were in their front yard Aug. 16, 2016 — the mom was watering plants while Vanessa played in the grass. About 7 p.m., they heard the unmistakable jingles from an ice cream truck moving down Minnezona Avenue, according to the complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The truck parked in front of a stationary Phoenix Police Department cruiser, operated by Officer Annette Bartuch.
“Money in hand, Vanessa and her siblings walked together and stopped at the street to look both ways, as they had been taught, before safely walking across the street,” attorneys wrote.
Their mother watched from the door while comforting a crying 2month-old.
After Vanessa got her ice cream, she stepped from the curb and stopped in front of the truck. She looked both ways, unpeeled her treat and walked forward.
That’s when the officer accelerated, struck Vanessa on the driver’s side and dragged her under the cruiser “while her head and face scraped the asphalt,” according to court papers.
Tania Andrade, the girl’s 10-yearold brother and her 7-year-old sister saw the accident.
They rushed to her side to help before emergency crews arrived, Tania wiping her eyes while her husband rubbed her shoulders and tried to comfort her.
“Suffice to say, these are images they will never forget,” attorney Marc Lamber said in the days after the crash.
Lawsuit, investigations
Among her injuries, Vanessa suffered a severe traumatic brain injury.
The family’s lawyers filed the lawsuit in June 2017, alleging the officer was negligent. It had been slated for a trial before the settlement agreement was reached.
In a short-lived argument, attorneys for Phoenix wrote in a January filing that the driver of the ice cream truck was partly at fault for the girl’s death.
They said the vehicle’s hazard lights were not flashing while it was stopped — a violation of rules for street vending.
Other arguments chalked the case up to a tragic accident where the officer could not have avoided hitting the girl.
During the investigation, Phoenix police assigned the officer to a nondriving position, said Sgt. Vince Lewis, a department spokesman. That internal investigation found no policy violations, and the officer was exonerated.
She remains employed with the department.
Phoenix officials declined to comment about the settlement.
‘Countless surgeries’
Vanessa has undergone numerous surgeries in the 22 months since the crash.
“I would like to appreciate everyone that is praying for my daughter and for my family ... for her to get better,” Vanessa’s father said in a recorded video shortly after the crash. “She’s a fighter . ... Thank you, everybody. Gracias, gracias.”
McGroder said the “amicable agreement” was in everyone’s best interest.
“She continues to battle,” he said Friday. “With God’s help, she’ll hopefully make a recovery that will allow her to at least function and lead a productive life.”