Chaffee sued by victim of crash

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- One of the two surviving victims of a fatal police-chase crash in September has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Chaffee.

The suit was filed Dec. 21 by Cape Girardeau attorney David Remley on behalf of Betina M. Ott of Chaffee, Remley confirmed Monday.

On Sept. 23, Ott was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Garrett K. Williams of Allenville that crashed on Route U in Cape Girardeau County following a high-speed police pursuit that began in Chaffee. Williams and Debra P. Johnson, 46, were killed in the crash. Another passenger, 20-year-old Daniel L. Moore of Chaffee, also survived the accident.

The suit filed seeks damages for the injuries the 23-year-old Ott sustained in the accident. She initially was hospitalized at Saint Louis University Hospital in critical condition. Ott, the only person in the vehicle wearing a seat belt, is the mother of two young daughters.

The fatal accident occurred after police saw a 1995 Oldsmobile driven by Williams run a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 77 and Yoakum Street in Chaffee. Chaffee patrolman Jim Backfisch pursued the vehicle on a curving path of gravel roads and rural highways for about 28 miles, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The chase ended when the car driven by Williams overturned on Route U.

Backfisch was placed on administrative leave while the incident was under investigation. The Scott County Sheriff's Department investigated the chase and found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Chaffee Police Department, said sheriff's department Maj. Tom Beardslee. He said the investigation found that Backfisch followed police department procedures and state statutes while conducting the pursuit.

Calls to Chaffee police chief Martin Keys, city attorney David Summers and acting mayor Tom Cunningham were not returned Monday. Remley didn't want to comment on the details of the case.

The Southeast Missourian was unable to locate members of Ott's family Monday. Moore, the other survivor from the crash, has been transferred back and forth from a nursing home to Saint Francis Medical Center since that night, said his uncle, Roger Moore. Moore said his nephew sustained severe head injuries in the accident.

Summonses have been issued to the city of Chaffee and to Backfisch in the civil case. A case review is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 16 in front of Circuit Judge Ben Lewis in Cape Girardeau County.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182