Dayton v. Pledge
| Decision Date | 19 April 2019 |
| Docket Number | Appeal No. 3-17-0698 |
| Citation | 128 N.E.3d 1120,2019 IL App (3d) 170698,431 Ill.Dec. 950 |
| Parties | Brian DAYTON, Individually and as the Special Administrator of the Estate of Jill D. Dayton, Deceased, and Amanda Dayton Nehring, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Thomas PLEDGE and The McDonough County Sheriff's Department, Defendants-Appellees |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Kent F. Slater, John M. Spesia, and Jacob E. Gancarczyk, of Spesia & Taylor, of Joliet, and Michael T. Reagan, of Ottawa, for appellants.
Lorilea Buerkett, Matthew R. Booker, and Peter E. Naylor, of Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP, of Springfield, for appellees.
¶ 1 Plaintiffs Brian Dayton, individually and as special administrator of the estate of Jill D. Dayton, and Amanda Dayton Nehring filed a wrongful death and negligence complaint against Deputy Thomas Pledge and the McDonough County Sheriff's Department seeking damages related to a high-speed pursuit, which resulted in the death of Jill and bodily injury to Amanda when Pledge's squad car struck the Dayton minivan. The jury returned verdicts in favor of plaintiffs, and defendants moved for judgment n.o.v. and a new trial. The trial court granted defendants' motion and vacated the jury's verdicts. On appeal, plaintiffs argue that (1) judgment n.o.v. was inappropriate where reasonable minds might differ as to whether Pledge's pursuit of the fleeing vehicle was willful and wanton, (2) the trial court erred in granting defendant's motion for new trial because the verdicts were not against the manifest weight of the evidence, and (3) the verdicts on separate claims were not legally inconsistent. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand with directions.
¶ 3 Around 11:30 p.m. on September 3, 2004, Pledge responded to a call regarding an erratic driver operating a white sports utility vehicle (SUV). Pledge located the SUV headed south on Route 67 in a rural area of McDonough County. He followed the vehicle for a few miles on the four-lane divided highway. After observing the vehicle swerve several times, Pledge stopped the vehicle. As Pledge approached the passenger side, the SUV sped away. Pledge ran back to his squad car and pursued the vehicle. The SUV proceeded southbound on Route 67 with its lights off. Pledge followed, reaching speeds as high as 110 miles per hour. The SUV and Pledge headed into Macomb. As they approached the intersection of Route 67 and University Avenue, near Western Illinois University, Pledge announced to dispatch that he was traveling "100" miles per hour.
¶ 4 At the same time, a minivan, driven by Amanda Dayton, was traveling north on Route 67. Amanda's mother, Jill, was navigating in the passenger seat. Amanda entered the left turn lane at the intersection of University Avenue and Route 67. As she did so, the SUV Pledge was pursuing passed through the intersection, directly in front of the minivan. As Amanda continued her left turn, Pledge's squad car entered the intersection and struck the passenger side of the minivan, killing Jill and severely injuring Amanda.
¶ 5 Amanda and her father, Brian, filed suit against Pledge and the McDonough County Sheriff's Department to recover damages for their injuries. The complaint asserted wrongful death and bodily injury, alleging that Pledge acted negligently and willfully and wantonly in pursuing the SUV and that the sheriff's department was liable under the respondeat superior doctrine. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiffs' claims were barred by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Tort Immunity Act) ( 745 ILCS 10/2-202 (West 2004) ) because Pledge's pursuit of the fleeing vehicle could not be classified as willful and wanton conduct. The trial court denied defendants' motion, and the case proceeded to trial.
¶ 6 At trial, Amanda and Brian testified on behalf of plaintiffs, and depositions of occurrence witness Lindsey Clingan and a medical doctor were read into evidence. Reconstruction specialist Michael O'Hern and Pledge testified for the defense. The defense also tendered a line-of-sight video created by O'Hern that depicted the position of the vehicles as Pledge approached the intersection from Amanda's point of view. Following closing arguments, the jury returned a verdict for defendants, and the Daytons appealed.
¶ 7 On appeal, the Daytons argued that the trial court erred in, among other things, admitting the defense's line-of-sight video and instructing the jury on the limited use of that video. This court found that the Daytons were entitled to a new trial because the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the video and that the improper admission resulted in prejudice. See Lorenz v. Pledge , 2014 IL App (3d) 130137, 382 Ill.Dec. 271, 12 N.E.3d 550. We reversed and remanded for a new trial. Id. ¶ 32.
¶ 8 At the second trial, Pledge testified that on September 3, 2004, he received information about an SUV headed south on Route 67 being driven by someone that was possibly driving under the influence. He waited along Route 67, north of Macomb, and when the SUV passed, he pulled out and followed it. He activated his dash camera and followed the SUV for approximately three miles. After observing the vehicle swerve several times, Pledge initiated a traffic stop, and the SUV pulled over. He confirmed the license plate number and exited the squad car. As he approached the passenger side of the SUV, the vehicle sped away. Pledge ran back to his car and pursued the vehicle.
¶ 9 The dash camera video, which was admitted into evidence, shows Pledge running back to the car and announcing "pursuit into Macomb." As the SUV speeds away, the driver turns off the lights. The pursuit continues south on Route 67 into Macomb with both vehicles traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Roughly a mile north of the intersection Pledge reports his speed as "110 miles per hour."
¶ 10 Pledge testified that he followed the SUV toward the intersection of Route 67 and University Avenue with his lights and siren activated. His lights and siren remained on for the duration of the pursuit to advise the public of emergency and advise law enforcement of his location. He knew University Avenue was the entrance to Western Illinois University and that there was increased traffic in the area due to the holiday weekend. He was also aware of prior accidents at that intersection. He testified that, as a driver of an emergency vehicle, he was permitted to exceed the maximum speed limit so long as he did not endanger life or property. He also knew that high-speed pursuits were dangerous to other motorists and "certainly could" put innocent people in harm's way. He noted that the blacked-out vehicle was a "huge safety concern" and he was "pretty convinced" that it was going to crash.
¶ 11 Pledge maintained radio contact with the dispatcher during the entire pursuit. At some point, he heard the Macomb Police Department "talking about putting out spike strips" to assist in apprehending the driver of the SUV. It was his understanding that they were taking steps to apprehend the vehicle about one-half mile south of the University Avenue intersection.
¶ 12 As Pledge approaches the city limits of Macomb on the dash camera video, he announces a speed of "100" miles per hour and drives past a Clark gas station approximately 1700 feet north of University Avenue. He testified that as he passed the station he saw the Dayton minivan in the northbound left turn lane with its left turn signal activated. He assumed the vehicle was going to make a left turn and was aware of prior collisions from vehicles turning at that intersection. Pledge stated that he was going 70 to 75 miles per hour as he passed the gas station. The posted speed limit 450 feet north of the intersection was 40 miles per hour.
¶ 13 Approximately 185 feet before the intersection, a white line divides Route 67 and the right turn lane. Pledge testified that at the beginning of that dividing line he applied "maximum" braking. After the blacked-out SUV passed through the intersection, Pledge collided with the Dayton minivan as it was making a left-hand turn. Pledge recalled the traffic signal was green for southbound traffic and remained green until the collision. The entire pursuit, from the time Pledge ran back to his vehicle to the time his squad car struck the Dayton minivan, lasted 77 seconds.
¶ 14 Pledge stated that he was aware of the high speed pursuit policy of the McDonough County Sheriff's Department and that compliance with the policy was mandatory. Pledge knew that to pursue a vehicle at high speeds he "must comply first with section 3.02," which required him to determine that there was a serious felony involving an actual or threatened attack.1 Pledge also acknowledged that the pursuit of the SUV for suspected driving under the influence was a misdemeanor. He admitted that he had no information about a serious felony involving an actual or threatened attack at that time. Pledge confirmed that he had the SUV license plate number and knew the identity of the owner when he ran back to his squad car and pursued the vehicle. He also knew that under section 4.03 of the pursuit policy, he had a duty to avoid contributing to the danger already created by the SUV.2 Pledge intended to apprehend the suspect while exercising maximum safety.
¶ 15 Lindsay Clingan was in her car facing west at the University Avenue intersection that evening. She waited at the stop light and then turned right onto Route 67. As she headed north on Route 67, she looked in her rear view mirror and witnessed Pledge's squad car crash into the side of the Dayton minivan. She testified that before she completed her turn onto Route 67, she saw the minivan moving into the left turn lane at the University Avenue intersection. She also...
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