Fort Worth Woman Involved in Crash With Officer Says City Should Pay

A Fort Worth mother wants the city to pay for damage to her van and medical bills after she collided with a police officer in an unmarked SUV.

Even though the officer hit her from behind, an investigation found she was at fault because she made a sudden left turn into her driveway and failed to signal.

The woman, Catalina Garcia, 34, said the police report is full of errors.

The crash occurred at about 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 26. Garcia and her teenage son were turning into their driveway on N.E. 23rd Street when they were hit.

The mother was startled when she saw the officer, dressed in civilian clothes, had a gun in a holster.

"He has a gun,” she said in a 911 call. "Oh my God, please hurry! Please hurry! He has a gun!"

At first, neither she nor the 911 operator knew the other driver was an officer.

Garcia, a single mother of four, said she thought it was a case of road rage because a few blocks earlier, she had seen the same driver pulling out of a parking lot in front of her and honked at him.

"I'm going to drive away,” she said after the crash.

“You do whatever you think is best for your safety,” the 911 call taker responded.

She sped away, only to notice another car behind her.

"I think I'm being followed,” she said. “Where do I go? Is there a police station around here?"

Then, about seven minutes after the crash, she was in for a huge surprise.

"Ma'am, the person you hit was a police officer,” the operator told her. “All of them are police officers. You need to pull over.”

Still panicked, Garcia drove to the parking lot of the nearest police station.

"All of the sudden, there was a lot of cops there,” she said.

Police gave her a ticket for not signaling and making an improper turn into her driveway.

She said the police report gave an inaccurate account of what happened.

The report said she did not cooperate, but she said she answered all the officer’s questions.

The officer involved in the crash said he had seen her talking on her cell phone.

"I was not on my cell phone, at all,” she said.

The report also said she slowed down along the right side of the street before making a sudden left turn into her driveway.

"No, there was no reason for me to get on that curb,” she said.

Investigators talked to a neighbor who said she saw the crash and confirmed the officer's account.

The neighbor, Elia Jim, also told NBC 5 that Garcia slowed down, allowed another vehicle to pass and then made an abrupt left turn when the officer also tried to pass, causing the crash.

“She slowed down,” Jim said. “I thought she was going to let the cars by her but she only let one car pass her.”

Garcia said she believes the city should pay for the damage to her van because the officer clearly hit her from behind.

"Just the fact it was a police officer who hit me, and they're blaming me for the accident,” she said.