A woman injured in a fatal three-car accident in July is suing the City of Atlanta.
Kenyatta White filed a lawsuit this week in the accident caused by a recent police academy graduate. White says she suffered lower back and cervical injuries in the July 21 collision that killed another driver, Jackie Culp, 59.
According to reports, Atlanta Police Officer Joshua Sieck was responding to a call when he drove through a red light at Cascade Drive and Fairburn Road in southwest Atlanta. His squad car smashed into the side of Culp’s car, forcing it into the front of White’s vehicle.
Sieck was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and fired two days later by Atlanta Police Chief George Turner.
Culp’s family sued the city in March.
White’s lawsuit claims negligence, saying that the “emergency suicide call” that Sieck was responding to was 30 minutes old and had been downgraded to a non-life-threatening emergency.
White and her attorneys say that Atlanta officials have been unresponsive to their requests for information.
“Despite the best efforts of the Culp family and Ms. White to resolve this matter with the city directly, the city has not been willing to meaningfully communicate with us nor has the city attempted to resolve this situation,” attorney Robert Bozeman said in a statement.
APD spokesman said on Thursday evening that the city hadn’t been served any lawsuit.
“The City of Atlanta continues to investigate the claim of Kenyatta White,” APD spokesman Carlos Campos said in an email. “The Fulton County Police Department is handling the ongoing criminal investigation. The Law Department has requested information from Ms. White’s lawyers and explained that the claim must be thoroughly investigated prior to any settlement discussions. No lawsuit has been served on the City at this time.”
The lawsuit was filed against the city because Sieck worked for the city, according to the complaint.
“Officer Sieck was acting within the course and scope of his employment as a City of Atlanta Police Officer while engaging in the actions that led to Ms. Whites’s injuries,” the lawsuit reads.
In her lawsuit, White is seeking legal and medical fees and is asking for punitive “relief as this Court deems just and appropriate.”
About the Author
