A Gwinnett County jury on Thursday awarded $2 million to the widow of a 52-year-old man who was killed when a Gwinnett police officer in a speeding patrol car slammed into his vehicle.
The verdict followed three days of testimony about the Dec. 15, 2006 wreck that resulted in Willie Allen Sargent Jr.'s death.
Sargent was trying to turn left into Uncle Woody's Party Place on U.S. 78 in Snellville when Gwinnett County Police Officer James Stoudenmire's patrol car collided with his vehicle.
At the time, the officer was responding as backup to a suspicious person call in Snellville, traveling between 78 and 80 mph with no emergency flashing lights or sirens, according to the lawsuit.
"The county employee’s conduct in this case was not good, and the jury said so with its verdict," said attorney Terry Jackson, who represented Sargent's widow, Faustina Sargent.
Stoudenmire was reprimanded and suspended. Then in 2009, Stoudenmire was arrested on a drunken driving charge while he was off duty. The Police Department allowed him to resign in lieu of termination.
About the Author
