Nov 7, 2007 2:10 pm US/Eastern
Report: Trooper Was Speeding When Driver Was Hit
FINKSBURG, Md. (WJZ) ―
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An internal state police investigation says a trooper who struck and killed a Finksburg man last November was driving nearly 30 miles per hour above the posted speed limit, on the shoulder, without his emergency lights and sirens on.
CBS
A family in Finksburg is wondering why it appears that a Maryland State Trooper isn't being held to the laws that are in effect for the rest of us.
Mike Schuh reports they're referring to a lack of criminal charges following a fatal accident.
Near midnight on Nov. 28 of last year, on a then-deserted Route 140, Randy Rakes left a party at his house and crossed the street with his friend.
He never made it. He was hit by a trooper's police car.
"The initial report from the State Police was that this was a trooper that was responding to a burglary call. He was assisting another trooper. But it has come to light since then that he was not responding to any kind of call. He was merely going to barracks to turn in paperwork," said the family's attorney David Ellin.
The police placed blame on the victim.
"I don't even think Randy was gone before they were covering this up," said the victim's mom Jeane Blizzard.
"The State Police initially stated that Mr. Rakes attempted suicide and jumped in front of the police car," said Ellin.
The officer said that Rakes jumped out in front of his police cruiser, but the full Maryland state crash investigations shows he was speeding 28 miles an hour over the posted speed limit, and that he hit Rakes as he was moving away from the highway.
The report says had the trooper been going slower, the accident wouldn't have happened.
The trooper hasn't been charged with anything or disciplined.
"And not even 'I'm sorry,'" said Blizzard. "They have known for 11 months that driver error and speed were the cause of this collision. When were they going to charge him? If he's not charged by Nov. 29, he walks free."
Though the family has filed a $15 million dollar lawsuit, under Maryland law the maximum judgment against a trooper is $200,000.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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