ORLANDO, Fla. – The family of a 92-year-old woman killed in a crash with an Orlando Police Department patrol vehicle formally filed a $92 million lawsuit against the city Wednesday.
Milagros “Millie” Ortiz died in January after a collision involving an OPD patrol vehicle at South Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue.
“I’ve tried to heal, and I still can’t heal,” said Judy Santiago, Ortiz’s daughter. “It hurts too much. My heart is broken.”
Ortiz’s family commemorated their matriarch by filing the lawsuit on what would have been her 93rd birthday.
While stopped at a red light, Orlando Police Officer Andrew McKuhen reportedly spotted another driver making an illegal U-turn.
As the officer began entering the intersection, the video shows he activated the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights, which appeared steady rather than flashing.
A witness does not recall hearing a siren.
Seconds later, the emergency lights turned off entirely and remained dark as the officer accelerated through the intersection and into the path of an SUV carrying Ortiz home from a bingo game.
Ortiz, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of her friend’s Jeep, later died at a hospital.
“The investigation into Milly’s death subsequently revealed that the emergency warning equipment and McKuhen’s patrol vehicle had a documented history of reoccurring problems before the fatal collision,” said Benjamin Crump, the family’s attorney. “Despite those reoccurring problems, the vehicle remained available for police operations.”
The state’s attorney office declined to file criminal charges against McKuhen after concluding there was no evidence the police officer was driving recklessly.
Orlando police and city officials have have declined to comment on the pending litigation.