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By Evelyn Puffer
Contributing writer
The 80-year-old Harris woman who struck and seriously injured Deputy Chad Meyer (pictured) as he directed traffic at an accident scene in December 2008 has received a suspended jail term and lost her driving privileges for at least one year.
It was about 5 p.m. December 13, 2008 as Deputy Meyer was directing traffic at a two-vehicle injury crash at Hwy. 95 & Co. Rd. 48 in North Branch Twp., that he was struck by a car driven by Elizabeth Louise Richards and thrown 110 feet into the air.
Meyer was airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale where he underwent surgery for a broken leg, a cut tendon in his left hand and a fractured shoulder.
He needed 12 staples in his scalp and 30 stitches in his face to close other wounds.
He wasn’t physically able to return to law enforcement duty until July 31, 2009 and still has frequent headaches and limited mobility in his shoulder.
On December 4, 2009, Richards entered an Alford plea to a charge of misdemeanor careless driving which isn’t an admission of guilt but rather recognition that sufficient evidence exists that a conviction by a judge or jury could result.
Richards told the court she was sorry, she hadn’t set out to hurt Deputy Meyer, and in fact hadn’t see him. (There was no allegation that Richards had used alcohol prior to the crash.)
But, in fact, she had seriously hurt the deputy, noted Deputy Co. Attorney Stacy St. George as she expounded on the violence of the impact.
Said St. George, “We are lucky that we are not here under different and more tragic circumstances. Thankfully, Deputy Meyer is here with us today. He was on duty trying to keep the public safe when he was struck by the defendant.
“When the defendant struck Deputy Meyer,“ St. George told the court, “ he flew 110 feet.”
The collision was categorized as a “roof vault,” she said, meaning Deputy Meyer’s center of gravity was higher than the leading edge of the striking vehicle and Meyer was lifted into the air, suffering traumatic injuries from this trajectory.
As his head struck the upper part of the windshield, the impact left blood and tissue embedded in it, she said.
Such injuries would be serious for a lay person, said St. George, but can be career-ending for a law enforcement officer.
This trajectory usually indicates no braking, she said, adding that she doesn’t believe the public is aware that at just 46 mph (the speed an accident investigation gauged Richards was going) one can kill with their car.
In fact, to cause a roof vault, said St. George, the striking vehicle must be either accelerating after impact or traveling at a high rate of speed. It was Meyer’s own hard work and the many grueling hours spent in physical therapy, she said at the sentencing hearing, that “has returned him to duty as a law enforcement officer protecting the citizens of Isanti County.”
“We are fortunate and very lucky to have him back with us,” she added.
It was Deputy Meyer’s wish that Richards lose her driving privileges and that she pay him the cost of the sheriff’s department uniform and equipment such as duty belt, handcuffs etc. that had to be cut off him following the crash.
Those items, which county deputies must pay for on their own, cost Meyer $1,299.
Judge James Dehn took Meyer’s requests into consideration as he sentenced Richards to 90 days, stayed one year, $385 in fine and fees and the $1,299 restitution. She will be on supervised probation for one year and may not drive before December 29, 2010.
Judge Dehn said he regards Deputy Meyer as a hero. “We hear about athletes working hard to get back on the field when they are injured,” he said, “but we don’t hear about officers like Deputy Meyer. He is a true hero.”
The sheriff’s department apparently thought so, too, and on Jan. 21 awarded Meyer the Wounded on Duty Citation.
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