City, police officer sued by victim's husband over fatal South Carolina crash

By Jim Greene

Published on December 01, 2005

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the city of Charleston and a Charleston police officer by the husband of a woman killed when the officer's patrol car hit the couple's pickup truck.

Gary Sizemore's suit, filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court last week, charges Officer Brandon Tagayun with carelessness and wanton, reckless, negligent conduct for speeding through a red light at an intersection and hitting the driver's side of the pickup truck, killing Patsy Sizemore. Gary Sizemore received only minor injuries. The suit claims Tagayun was not using flashing lights or a siren, and faults supervising officer Teddie Malone, who was following Tagayun, for not intervening to prevent the car accident.

City officials did not comment on the suit, except to say that they are awaiting the results of a state police investigation of the crash and a reconstruction of the accident by investigators for the city's lawyer in the case, former State Supreme Court Justice John McCuskey.

Sizemore's suit asks for undisclosed damages for sorrow, mental anguish, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and property damage. It also requests compensation for past and future earnings of both he and his wife.

Officer Tagayun "intentionally acted in an unreasonable manner in disregard of the obvious risks known to him," according to the suit, and "acted indifferently and recklessly," ignoring the safety of others.

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