ORLANDO, Fla. – The family of a 92-year-old woman killed in a crash with an Orlando Police Department patrol vehicle is set to formally announce the filing of a $92 million lawsuit on Wednesday.
Milagros “Millie” Ortiz died in January after a collision involving an OPD patrol vehicle at South Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue.
“We want justice for my mother,” said Judy Santiago, Ortiz’s daughter in July. “There has to be accountability.”
The lawsuit targets OPD, the manufacturer of the patrol car’s emergency lights and the company responsible for maintaining OPD’s fleet.
While stopped at a red light, Orlando Police Officer Andrew McKuhen reportedly spotted another driver making an illegal U-turn.
As the officer began entering the intersection, the video shows he activated the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights, which appeared steady rather than flashing.
A witness does not recall hearing a siren.
Seconds later, the emergency lights turned off entirely and remained dark as the officer accelerated through the intersection and into the path of an SUV carrying Ortiz home from a bingo game.
Ortiz, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of her friend’s Jeep, later died at a hospital.
“We think $92 million, representing a million dollars for each year of her life, is equitable,” said attorney Benjamin Crump.
Crump and the Ortiz family have scheduled a news conference Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
Orlando police have declined to comment while the agency conducts an internal investigation.