The family of a 92-year-old woman who died after a collision with an Orlando Police Department vehicle in January has added new defendants in a $92 million wrongful death lawsuit originally filed against the City of Orlando.
The amended complaint filed this week on behalf of the estate Milagros “Millie” Ortiz now includes the manufacturer of the police vehicle, the company that installed the vehicle’s emergency lights, and the manufacturer of the lights and siren.
Ortiz was riding in a Jeep while returning home from a bingo game on Jan. 18 when her SUV was struck by a marked Orlando Police Department SUV in the intersection of South Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue.
Officer Andrew McKuhen, who was stopped at a red light, saw another driver make an illegal U-turn and began attempting to stop it for the traffic violation, records show.
Video from a traffic camera shows the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights were activated as McKuhen began to enter the intersection against the red light.
Those emergency lights abruptly turned off moments before the collision, the video shows.
A witness told investigators he did not recall hearing the patrol vehicle’s siren, records indicate.
Investigations conducted by the Orlando Police Department and the state attorney’s office later determined the patrol vehicle had a history of maintenance issues involving the lights and siren.
OPD suspended McKuhen for 80 hours for violating the agency’s driving policy, but the state attorney’s office will not file criminal charges after finding no evidence that the officer was driving recklessly.
“The investigation into Millie’s death subsequently revealed that the emergency warning equipment and McKuhen’s patrol vehicle had a documented history of recurring problems before the fatal collision,” attorney Benjamin Crump said at an August news conference announcing the wrongful lawsuit against the City of Orlando he filed on behalf of Ortiz’s family.
The amended complaint names Ford Motor Company, Dana Safety Supply, Inc. and Federal Signal Corporation, Inc. as additional defendants.
Those companies have not responded to the lawsuit in court and did not immediately respond to messages from News 6 offering the opportunity to comment on the story. The City of Orlando previously declined to comment on the litigation.
The three companies are accused of product defects and negligence.
The filing alleges Ford’s electrical system did not safely accommodate police emergency equipment; Dana improperly designed or installed the equipment integration; and Federal Signal supplied warning lights, siren or related components that were defective or lacked adequate warnings.
The family contends the alleged defects and failures contributed to the loss of warnings and the crash.
Under Florida’s sovereign immunity law, damages against government defendants like the City of Orlando are typically capped at maximum $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
The amended complaint notes that those financial caps do not apply to the private companies added as defendants.