Woman sues NC Highway Patrol after her son was killed in a trooper ride-along
The mother of a 22-year-old East Carolina University student who died while interning with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol has filed a lawsuit against the state agency.
Michael Steven Higgins, 22, died after a single-vehicle crash while riding with N.C. State Highway Trooper Omar Romero in Pitt County in August 2020. Romero was in pursuit of a suspected impaired driver, but lost control of the vehicle in a curve and hit a utility pole and two large trees, The News & Observer previously reported.
Higgins died at the scene. Romero was treated at an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Lisa Higgins, Michael’s mother, filed suit in Pitt County Superior Court and the North Carolina Industrial Commission “alleging gross negligence in connection with her son’s wrongful death,” according to the JC White Law Group, which is representing Higgins.
The lawsuit, filed on April 25, claims Romero violated state law and NCSHP policies by taking Wiggins on “an unauthorized high-speed chase.”
The lawsuit also names Trooper Brandon Cruz for encouraging Romero and Higgins to pursue a high-speed chase. According to a press release issued by Higgins’ attorneys, Cruz “told Romero about a woman he suspected may have been drunk, and goaded Romero, who had Michael in his car, to ‘go stop her.’”
NCSHP and East Carolina University are also defendants in the lawsuit.
“The actions of Defendant Romero and Defendant Cruz in initiating an unnecessary and dangerous high-risk, high-speed chase was done with reckless disregard for the rights and safety of Michael and the public at large,” according to the lawsuit.
A phone call and email to the NCSHP was not returned Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, NCSHP spokesperson Sgt. Christopher Knox sent an email that said “out of respect for the ongoing legal process, we would not be able to provide further comment at this time.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2022 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Woman sues NC Highway Patrol after her son was killed in a trooper ride-along."
