Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The fire chief of Winston-Salem, North Carolina has become embroiled in a strange suit by a woman who claims that the fire chief’s personal vehicle struck her vehicle last March and kept on going.
Katrina Newton claims she was driving her vehicle on March 26 when dark-colored Dodge pickup hit her vehicle causing severe damage. Neither Newton, her daughter, nor a passenger, Delores Dalton, were able to get the vehicle’s license plate but they did observe a large Dodge sticker in the truck’s rear window.
When police arrived, Newton claims she was quickly abandoned on the side of the road as an officer searched in vain for the Dodge pickup.
Months later, Newton said she saw the truck again and took down the license plate. She called 911, gave the operator the registration, and reported that the vehicle had serious damage on the front end. The truck was later traced to Winston-Salem Fire Chief Antony Farmer, who denies the vehicle was involved in the accident with Newton.
The suit was filed last month by Newton, her daughter and Dalton naming Chief Farmer, the City of Winston Salem, and Officer David Ingram of the Winston-Salem Police Department. Ingram is the officer who initially responded to the accident. The suit alleges and Ingram and the city helped to hinder the investigation into the matter.
