Eastern Nebraska city agrees to pay woman injured in police car crash $70,000

The eastern Nebraska city of Papillion has agreed to pay $70,000 in a settlement with a woman injured when a speeding police car slammed into her vehicle in 2008. Alicia Johnston was a 28-year-old hospital nurse at the time of the crash. She sued in 2009, seeking to recoup $21,000 in medical bills, plus additional damages for lost wages, destroyed car, and pain and suffering. Her lawyer originally submitted a settlement claim for $385,000. Her lawsuit said an on-duty police officer had been traveling faster than 60 mph in a 35 mph speed zone and had not activated the cruiser’s emergency lights or siren when he slammed into the driver’s side of her car on April 17, 2008, on a Papillion street.