The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- The state Claims Commission has awarded $1 million to a couple from Dumas for pain and suffering they endured after a state police cruiser hit their vehicle three years ago.
The state awarded Judy Webb $750,000 and Aubrey Webb, 59, $250,000. It was up to the commission to decide the reward after state police admitted fault in the Feb. 25, 2001 crash. The state Legislature now must approve the sum.
The state trooper who was at fault, Ahsen Sonny Rauf, was cited for failing to maintain proper control of his police car and poor judgment. He was suspended for five days without pay and transferred from Pine Bluff to Little Rock. In 2002, Rauf was found guilty of reckless driving and had his driver’s license suspended for 120 days. He was not injured in the wreck.
After the Thursday ruling he told the Webbs he was sorry that he didn’t apologize sooner.
“I never meant to harm you or Mr. Webb,” Rauf told Judy Webb. “I put my life on the line thinking that someone else’s life was on the line. I apologize for that day and wish it had not happened.”
Judy Webb responded, “We’re Christians and it’s in God’s hands.”
Among her injuries, Judy Webb said she had broken ribs, a broken sternum, broken collarbone and broken vertebrae and has difficulty breathing because scar tissue formed around her lungs along with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Aubrey Webb said he had broken ribs and broken vertebrae.
Alice Eastwood, a lawyer for the state police, argued that Judy Webb’s injuries weren’t as bad as she said. Eastwood also said Aubrey Webb’s injuries may have been pre-existing.
The wreck occurred on Interstate 530 between Little Rock and Pine Bluff. Rauf said he was responding to a vehicle fire when he swerved into the median to avoid slower traffic. He then struck the Webbs, causing their vehicle to flip and crash on the shoulder of the interstate.