Injured Woman’s Lawyer Alleges Police Negligence in Crash

Trial has begun in a lawsuit seeking $42 million for a brain-damaged Portland, Ore., woman injured in a crash involving a meth-addled driver.

A lawyer representing the guardians of Cayla Wilson told jurors Wednesday that a Clackamas County probation officer and a Portland police officer failed to confront Jack Dean Whiteaker and thus prevent the April 15, 2010, crash that injured the then-19-year-old Wilson, who was pregnant. Her daughter was born three months early.

The Oregonian reports that lawyers for the defendants, who include the two officers as well as Clackamas County and the city of Portland, will give their opening statements Thursday.

Whiteaker was sentenced in March 2012 to 11 years in prison for driving while under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving. He admitted using meth a day before the crash.