By Anne Blythe
FRANKLINTON, N.C. — The parents of the sisters killed in December during a high-speed police chase through Franklin and Granville counties are suing the Franklinton officer involved in the 15-mile pursuit and the estate of the man who fled from him.
Linsay Erin Lunsford, 18, and her sister Maggie Rose, 9, died Dec. 1 when a 1988 Pontiac driven by Guy Christopher Ayscue crossed the center line on U.S. 15 and slammed into their Kia.
Ayscue was fleeing from Officer Mike Dunlap in a 13-minute chase that had reached a speed of 90 mph when the fatal collision occurred, according to the suit.
The sisters were killed instantly, the Highway Patrol said. Ayscue was fatally injured.
Clinton W. Lunsford and Mary Ann Lunsford, parents of the sisters, filed suit in Granville County last week, seeking a jury trial and damages in excess of $10,000, the standard for getting a case into Superior Court.
The Lunsfords are also seeking damages from Ray Gilliam, the Franklinton police chief; from John Green, the Franklinton officer who was Dunlap’s supervisor the day of the chase; and the town of Franklinton.
The complaint, drawn up by Oxford lawyers Gene Edmundson and James T. Duckworth III, alleges that Dunlap “willfully, wantonly and recklessly” violated Franklinton policies by going more than 20 mph over the posted speed limits.
The complaint also alleges that Dunlap was driving in a patrol car with a blue light on the dashboard, not the top rack. The complaint says the officer did not turn on the car’s video camera during the chase.
At one point, according to the suit, Dunlap chased Ayscue through the town of Creedmoor in a zigzag path at 103 mph.
Green, the supervising officer on duty, followed behind Dunlap, according to the suit, as at least two vehicles were forced off the road.
The parents contend that Green should have called off the chase and that he knew Dunlap was violating the policy. The suit says the police chief was negligent for failing to develop a pursuit policy that protected the lives and safety of innocent motorists.
The Lunsford sisters were headed home on U.S. 15 after shopping at the local Wal-Mart. The collision occurred less than three miles from their home.
Linsay, a freshman at UNC-Greensboro and the fourth of six children, had come home for a weekend to do laundry and spend time with family.
Maggie was a fourth-grader at Mount Energy Elementary School.
Ayscue, 38, had a criminal record spanning at least 20 years, with more than half a dozen DWIs and other driving charges.
Copyright 2008 The News & Observer