The city of Naperville has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed nearly seven years ago by a woman whose mother died in an April 2017 traffic crash that involved a now-retired city police officer.
The settlement, approved by the Naperville City Council last week, totals $750,000.
Phyllis Manderson Davis, of Naperville, died hours after her car collided with a police squad car at the intersection of Ogden Avenue and Feldott Lane on April 8, 2017.
Manderson Davis’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on July 13, 2017, citing the officer involved — Tracy D. Heusinkveld — and the city of Naperville as being at fault.
Years of litigation followed. The city’s settlement resolves the case.
Asked about the matter, Naperville City Attorney Mike DiSanto issued the following statement to the Naperville Sun: “The approved settlement releases the City and the involved officer from all claims and liability. It specifies that the City continues to deny the allegations, does not admit any wrongdoing, and is settling to avoid the uncertainty and expense of trial.”
The city’s $750,000 payout will be split five ways, according to an order approving the settlement entered Feb. 21 in DuPage CountyCircuit Court. Disbursement will include nearly $290,000 for attorney’s fees and reimbursement costs, $50,000 in escrow, and more than $400,000 divided between Manderson Davis’ daughters, Carilynn King Murawski and Audrey King Rangel, court records show.
Murawski, who was the plaintiff in Manderson Davis’ wrongful death lawsuit, will receive $288,660. Rangel will receive $123,711.
Calls to Murawksi were directed to plaintiff’s attorney, Anthony Russo Jr. of Wheaton-based Russo & Russo Ltd., who did not respond to requests for comment.
Court documents and Sun archives lay out the details of the April 2017 collision that killed Manderson Davis.
Manderson Davis was driving her 2017 Hyundai Elantra north on Ogden Avenue before preparing to make a left-hand turn to proceed westbound on Feldott Lane. She was driving home from a church service, family said at the time.
While Manderson Davis waited to make the turn, Officer Heusinkveld was conducting surveillance in her squad car in the parking lot of Enterprise Car Rental at 1715 Ogden Ave., reports said. When she observed a woman traveling southbound on Ogden Avenue towards Feldott with a cell phone to her ear.
Heusinkveld attempted to make a traffic stop of the woman, accelerating her vehicle to 68 mph in a 40-mph speed zone without activating her emergency lights and sirens as she traveled south on Ogden Avenue, reports said. Heusinkveld was driving in the right lane, approaching a green light at the Feldott intersection.
Manderson Davis, however, began to make her left turn onto Feldott on the green light. Court findings said there was a sufficient gap for Manderson Davis to complete the turn, the Feb. 21 settlement order states. But during the turn, Heusinkveld’s accelerating police vehicle “violently” crashed into Manderson Davis’ car, the order said.
Manderson Davis was taken to Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville, where she died hours later. Heusinkveld was also taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released.
Because of Heusinkveld’s involvement, investigation into the crash was turned over to members of the DuPage County Accident Reconstruction Team. The team determined that the primary causes of the collision were Heusinkveld’s speed and Manderson Davis’ left turn, a sheriff’s spokesman previously told the Sun.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the DuPage State’s Attorney Office said that after reviewing the circumstances of the case,it was determined that charging Heusinkveld with any wrongdoing wouldn’t be appropriate.
The wrongful death suit challenge that decision and claimed that Heusinkveld and the city were both at fault. Assertions included that “Heusinkveld’s negligent acts and omissions were her conscious choice, made while she was fully aware of the risk her conduct posed to others to whom she owed a duty of care.”
In January 2019, Heusinkveld voluntarily retired from the Naperville Police Department. Her retirement was part of a $140,000 settlement of a workers’ compensation claim approved by the Naperville City Council in late 2018, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche confirmed in an email to the Sun.
The city later recovered about $75,000 of the $140,000 settlement through a lien on money paid to Heusinkveld by Manderson Davis’ auto insurer, LaCloche said.
The city’s $750,000 settlement to Manderson Davis’ family addresses both wrongful death and survival action claims. In settling, the city denied allegations and asserted that Murawski — individually and as special administrator and special representative of Davis’ estate — failed to state a claim against it or Heusinkveld that required relief.
In his statement to the Sun Monday, DiSanto said, “(The) City of Naperville is pleased to have reached a settlement with the plaintiff to bring this tragic matter to a close.”
