Kansas community sued over woman’s death during police chase

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. – The family of a pregnant woman who died when the vehicle she was in was hit by a driver fleeing police is suing a Kansas community.

The Kansas City Star reports the lawsuit against Prairie Village was filed by the husband and two children of Denisse Lopez, who died in January 2016.

The crash occurred in Overland Park when 23-year-old Raphael Sherman, of Shawnee, was trying to escape Prairie Village police. He ran a red light and hit the vehicle Lopez was riding in. The lawsuit alleges the chase was unsafe because of traffic conditions.

Lopez’s baby boy was successfully delivered before she died.

Sherman is serving a prison sentence of nearly 12.5 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Prairie Village City Administrator Wes Jordan said the city will not comment on the lawsuit.

___

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com