Officer Sues Widow of Man Killed in Crash

Probe Indicated Driver Failed to Yield to Police Cruiser While Making Turn in 2006

Officer Micheal D. Weinhaus was responding to a call for a fight in progress when his cruiser crashed into a car in January 2006. The other driver, Jatinder K. Baboota, 61, died two weeks later, and an investigation determined that Baboota had failed to yield to the officer, who had his siren and emergency lights on.

Now, the officer is suing Baboota's widow, Shashi P. Baboota, for injuries he received in the crash. Weinhaus's lawsuit seeking $250,000 in damages said he suffered "serious injuries, has been prevented from transacting his business, has suffered and will continue to suffer great pain of body and mind" and will have continuing medical bills.

Baboota's car was insured by Allstate, which is defending the suit and has denied any reckless or negligent behavior by Baboota. Jay R. Goldman, the Allstate attorney handling the lawsuit, which was filed in January, said he could not comment on the case.

Edward J. Nuttall, the attorney for the Fairfax police officers union, said Weinhaus, 36, suffered injuries to his shoulder, neck, wrist, hips and both knees. Weinhaus missed a couple of days of work, then spent extensive time on light duty before returning to patrol, Nuttall said.

Nuttall said the case was not unlike those involving numerous other traffic crashes that occur daily in Fairfax. "People file claims for their medical bills and pain and suffering," he said. "It's no different for a police officer or firefighter or any other public servant who's injured in the line of duty."

Baboota, a cancer survivor who owned five gas stations in Northern Virginia, was driving back to one of his stations in Baileys Crossroads when he made a left turn off Columbia Pike on Jan. 23, 2006. As he made the turn toward Courtland Drive, just south of Leesburg Pike, the cruiser heading south on Columbia Pike struck his 1997 Honda Accord on the passenger side. Weinhaus's cruiser then slammed into a nearby signpost.

The force of the impact knocked Baboota across the front seat into the passenger window and turned his car 180 degrees so that it traveled across the raised median and several lanes of Columbia Pike before rolling over a curb and into a front yard. Baboota was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

Baboota was hospitalized with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, though his family said doctors were worried about swelling in his brain. Police said Weinhaus suffered knee injuries and was not hospitalized.

Baboota stayed in intensive care. About two weeks later, on Feb. 5, he died at Inova Fairfax Hospital of the head injuries he had suffered in the crash. The incident was the first fatal crash involving a Fairfax police officer since 1993. Because of an internal communications mix-up, police said, they did not publicly disclose the crash or Baboota's death.

Then-Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, since elected commonwealth's attorney, reviewed the case and found that Baboota was at fault for failing to yield to the officer. There is no traffic light at the intersection, but cars turning left must yield to cars heading straight. Morrogh said he would have ruled the same way if a private citizen had been driving.

A police report on the crash stated that Weinhaus was driving 35 to 40 mph before the crash. A witness who went to Baboota's aid after the crash told a reporter that he did not hear a police siren, but another witness who came forward later said that Weinhaus unquestionably had his siren and lights on for some distance and that Baboota had inexplicably pulled into the officer's path.

Weinhaus has remained on the police force.

Shashi Baboota and her daughter, Deepa Sinha, both declined to comment yesterday.