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Family filing suit after Georgia State Patrol chase ends in deadly crash

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Published  July 20, 2020 11:17pm EDT
Georgia
FOX 5 Atlanta

Lawsuit over police chase

A motorcyclist gets into an accident while involved in a chase with a Georgia State Patrol trooper.

ATLANTA - A north Georgia family is preparing to take legal action after their 21-year-old son is killed in a crash involving a Georgia State Patrol trooper.

It happened in September 2019. Wyatt Green, 21, was on leave from the Marine Corps when he was involved in the crash.

It's not clear what started the pursuit.

"The office turned around abruptly and started to follow him," said Lloyd Hoffspiegel, an attorney representing the family.

Hoffspiegel told FOX 5 the Georgia State Patrol trooper is seen on dash camera video weaving through traffic to catch up with Green.

"Wyatt takes off, and they're going very, very fast," described Hoffspiegel, "She does this maneuver that pushes him off the roadway."

It's how that maneuver was used that Hoffspiegel asking questions.

"When you see her narrowing the gap between the two of them, it just takes your breath away," said Hoffspiegel.

According to the crash report, the trooper involved was performing the “channelization technique” to stop Green. A Georgia Department of Public Safety Policy manual describes that maneuver as a tactic to re-direct the path of the pursuit. It goes on to say the vehicle will not initiate any contact with the violator's vehicle while using the technique.

"We were doing 106 mph. I was trying to channel him right here in the soft grass," said the trooper on dash camera video in September 2019. "I never left the roadway."

In the dash camera video, the trooper claims Green flipped her off right before he lost control of the motorcycle.

"He flipped me off and as soon as he flipped me off, he about hit the guard rail but he didn't hit it," said the GSP Trooper.

Hoffspiegel says the likelihood of harm greatly outweighed the benefit of the pursuit.

"There's nothing that I know of that caused her to pull him over," said Hoffspiegel.

Green's family told FOX 5 they have wanted to pursue legal action since the day after their son was killed. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in the coming weeks.