A woman who struck a police cruiser with her car after the driver made an abrupt U-turn without signaling is due to receive a $75,000 settlement from the city, according to the latest Board of Estimates agenda.
The board, whose members include the mayor, city council president, comptroller, director of the Department of Public Works and city solicitor, will vote on the settlement Wednesday morning.
According to the budget, the driver, Dorothy Marshall, was in her car on Sequoia Avenue in the Ashburton neighborhood in June 2016 when a police car in front of her made a U-turn without signaling.
The driver in the police cruiser, identified in court records as Lt. Darrell Merrick, was turning around for a parking space on the other side of the street, the budget said.
“She claims that as a result of this unexpected maneuver, she struck Lt. Merrick’s vehicle on the rear driver’s side,” the budget said.
Marshall received medical treatment for a torn rotator cuff, bruised esophagus and swelling in her right arm, and later underwent five months of physical therapy.
Court records indicate an attorney for Marshall filed a lawsuit against the city and the Baltimore Police Department in February 2019. Both sides reached a settlement that December.
In the board agenda, the City Law Department recommends approval of the settlement to avoid the uncertainty and potential added expense of a trial.
