(WSVN) - When police respond to emergencies, they’re supposed to turn on the lights and sirens on their cars and slow down at intersections. But one officer didn’t do that — and a Miami woman says she’s paying the price. 7’s Brian Entin investigates.
Some of the dancing Agatha Wright has done is pretty edgy. A contemporary piece symbolizes the fight against sex trafficking.
She has also taught traditional ballet.
Dancing is how Agatha makes a living.
Agatha Wright: “I need my body to operate at a very high athletic level.”
But Agatha hasn’t been able to dance for months. Her life changed when she crashed into a Miami Police car.
Agatha Wright: “The siren wasn’t on. And if you’re gonna take a red light, how is a person supposed to know that you’re coming without the siren?”
The officer was responding to a shooting, and drove through the red light at the intersection of Northwest 17th Avenue and 36th Street.
Agatha Wright: “The law constitutes that you have to err with caution, and there was no caution. It was a speeding bullet coming at me.”
Agatha’s car was totaled, and she was hurt.
She says her bruises weren’t the worst of it. Her back was damaged, and she’s in daily physical therapy.
Agatha Wright: “To have two injuries in my spine is incredibly difficult to bounce back from.”
What makes Agatha even more upset is that, she says, the City of Miami and the police department have gone pretty much silent on her. She has car insurance, but wants the city to reimburse her for the time she hasn’t been able to work and for other medical expenses.
Agatha Wright: “I want to be compensated for my loss. I want compensation for my medical and for my vehicle, and that’s it. That’s all I ask. It’s simple.”
Miami Police tell 7News they investigated the crash and determined Officer Raymon Washington was at fault. He was reprimanded, and his take-home car privileges were revoked this month.
Agatha has an interesting perspective on all of this. On top of being a dancer, she was also in the military for years, serving overseas in the Army.
Agatha Wright: “I have a fond appreciation for what they do because I’ve been there, I’ve also put my life on the line serving this country. But in the same breath, that does not exclude them from the law.”
For now, all Agatha can do is wait on the city’s Risk Management Department. The city tells 7News they continue to investigate her claim.
If they don’t compensate her for the accident, she says she’ll sue.
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