ORLANDO, Fla. – Attorneys hired to represent the victims involved in two recent police pursuit crashes are raising questions about whether the chases should have ever happened.
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On Thursday, a 26-year-old woman was injured after two men wanted for armed robbery led Ocoee police to the intersection of S. Orange Blossom Trail and Holden Avenue.
The culprits got away after Officer Chris Bonner collided with the woman's car. Both drivers were sent to the hospital with serious injuries.
An attorney for the woman said she will speak Wednesday afternoon to discuss the crash.
Meanwhile, a prominent Orlando-area attorney has been hired on behalf of a woman killed in a police pursuit in Lake County.
Kimberly King, 46, died after a head-on crash involving a 27-year-old woman who led deputies on a chase, according to deputies.
Deputies said they tried to pull over Melinda Martinez after she was seen leaving a known drug house and ran a stop sign.
In the city of Mascotte, officers deployed stop sticks on a two-lane road where Martinez lost control and crashed into a SUV driven by King. Both women died from their injuries.
"It looks as if this chase should have been terminated without question because the danger to the public was so much greater than the offense that was committed by the fleeing suspect, which is rolling through a stop sign," attorney Matt Morgan said.
Morgan said he intends to find out why the crash happened and hold all parties responsible for negligent conduct.
A representative for the Lake County Sheriff's Office said he was not at liberty to speak on the matter further due to pending litigation.