CHARLESTON — A Kanawha County man filed a lawsuit against several police departments, officers, municipalities and the West Virginia State Police, as well as the state's Department of Homeland Security alleging that they failed to properly keep a suspect contained who caused a car accident.
Alex N. Foster, Sean Beckett, Kyle O'Dell, the Milton Police Department, the city of Milton, Steve Lusher, T.J. Dillon, Brent Reed, the Hurricane Police Department, the city of Hurricane, J.A. Vanhoose, Anthony M. Whittington, the West Virginia State Police, the State of West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and John Doe were all named as defendants in the suit.
Keith D. Owen was in a 2005 Ford Escape on April 16, 2019, traveling at the intersection of Myers Avenue and 10th Street in Dunbar when the light turned from red to green and he began to enter the intersection, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Owen claims Foster, who was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, flew through the intersection and struck Owen's vehicle, completely disregarding the traffic light.
The plaintiff claims Foster disregarding the traffic light and failed to maintain his vehicle, according to the suit.
Owen claims at the time of the accident, Beckett and O'Dell were in pursuit of Foster after Cabell County 911 had issued a be on the lookout (BOLO) for him after he fled a parole officer. Beckett and O'Dell continued to pursue Foster and, in the process, Foster struck several vehicles
Foster, who was 25 at the time, led police on a multi-county chase from the Huntington Mall in Barboursville until the crash in Dunbar. Foster was charged with four counts of felony destruction of property and one count of felony fleeing with reckless indifference to others.
Owen claims the defendants were negligent because they had a duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons and their conduct was negligent over the course of the pursuit of Foster, causing the accident that injured the plaintiff.
Owen is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is represented by Andrew J. Geiger of the Joel Bieber Firm in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 21-C-318