Summary

Police cruiser camera video documented what happened five years ago when Colchester Police Officer Jim Roy pulled over a motorist for speeding on Lakeshore Drive. After the cars stop, the video shows that as Roy gets out of his car, his cruiser slowly begins to roll forward and picks up speed until his cruiser rear-ends the stopped car. The accident caused very minor damage. But the motorist, Susan Fay, had been headed to her chiropractic appointment for treatment for her longtime serious back injuries.She sued Colchester. She claimed the collision made her back problems much worse. This week the case went to jury trial.She was seeking nearly a $1 million from the town of Colchester in compensation and damages. She declined comment for our story but the trial was recorded by the court."After the car accident, the pain continued to, it changed and it increased over some time," Fay testified. "It feels very different like there's actually a knife going in right here. I can't describe it. It's burning. It's deep. And it's really knife-like."Fay produced doctors and medical bills to support her claims.Colchester produced one medical expert who disagreed.After five hours of deliberation the jury decided Colchester should pay Fay $340,000."My original thought was I was wondering why this going to trial at all? It seemed to be a fairly minor incident," said Lee Carpenter, one of the jurors.Carpenter says the deliberations were heated because the juror opinions ranged from a million dollars to zero. In the end they struck the $340,000 compromise.Carpenter said, "As the evidence was presented, there was a lot of evidence brought forward that should that there was damage done to this woman after the fact of the accident."A small accident that produced an unusually big jury award for the state of Vermont.Calls to Colchester town officials for comment were not returned. The town's insurance carrier, not the taxpayers, is responsible for paying the award.