Wife of Injured Kansas Officer Settles with Auto Dealership

December 2, 2021

A lawsuit filed against a Wichita car dealership by the wife of a police officer injured when he was run over by a sport utility vehicle from the business has been settled for an undisclosed amount.

Officer Brian Arterburn was critically injured in February 2017 when he was hit by the SUV while putting down stop sticks to stop the vehicle as police chased it. Arterburn’s wife, fellow Wichita police officer Claudale Arterburn, sued Eddy’s Chevrolet Cadillac, its owners and the driver of the SUV, Justin Terrazas.

The dealership has said that the vehicle was stolen and that it has “no clear understanding” of how Terrazas came to have it in his possession, the Wichita Eagle reported. But the lawsuit alleged Eddy’s Chevrolet Cadillac gave Terrazas access to the vehicle and did not report the car was stolen for two months before the chase, despite being told it was being used for criminal activity.

Terrazas pleaded guilty to charges in the case and was sentenced to nearly 29 years in prison.

The lawsuit, which had sought $75 million in actual and punitive damages, had been set to go to trial before the settlement was announced Tuesday.