Colorado Lawsuit Claiming Dispatcher Negligence Dismissed

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging four workers at a Pueblo, Colo., dispatch center delayed sending a trooper to an accident – a delay that was followed by a fatal crash in the same spot.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports Judge Marcia Krieger dismissed the case Thursday because it “failed to allege facts necessary to state a claim” for the basis of the lawsuit.

A caller reported a car was disabled on Interstate 25 near Fountain on Dec. 17, but a trooper wasn’t dispatched until about 10 minutes later. Before the trooper arrived, an Arizona woman crashed her SUV into the car. She died, and her passenger was injured.

The Colorado State Patrol concluded at least one dispatcher was watching a movie on the shift.

The lawsuit was brought by the parents of Heather Clinton, the driver of the second car, and Earl Clinton, the passenger.