Dog Blamed for Hitting Woman With Truck

[bigdoglover]

Phillyburbs.com

, Utah - A police dog that was left in a pickup truck with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.

Mary F. Stone, 41, was expected to remain hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and tailbone until at least Friday, said her husband, Paul Stone.

The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck's engine was on so Ranger would have air conditioning.


Draper said Ranger must have hit the shift on the steering column, putting the automatic transmission into gear. As the truck slowly rolled forward, police officers yelled to Stone, but she couldn't get out of the way in time, he said.

A front and rear tire ran over her. "She had tire marks on her clothes," her husband said.

The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a vehicle in the driveway.

Draper said police were trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.

[rmci]

Hey! I posted this one yesterday

[Novel]

How is it that a woman could not move out of the way of a slowly moving police vehicle!!!???
Oh, I'm sure the city will get sued for this one. Boy, that makes me mad. Whatever happened to people being aware of their surroundings, I just don't see how this is anyone's fault!

[richnrissa]

that dog must have seen the k-9 video we all saw and got ideas, lol

[mulroony]

Novel - I just don't understand why they had a k-9 unit in a truck.

Part of this feels bad for that woman, and part of me is laughing about the stupidity involved... (Going straight to hell)

[Novel]

LOL @ Mulroony. I'll see you there, I find it quite funny myself, but, man a broken pelvis is just horrid!! OUCH!

When they say truck, I'm assuming they mean SUV, Bronco/Blazer type vehicle. The Sheriff's department in this area use them instead of squad type cars because they offer room for the dog and a prisoner/person if necessary.

[Checkers]

This actually happened in the city I'm living in right now (actually just a few blocks away). There is definitely going to be a lawsuit and the truck (they describe the full setup of the truck in the article below) has been taken to find out why the dog was able to shift the gear without braking first. Here is a more detailed article...

Police Dog Blamed for Putting Truck Into Gear
July 13th, 2006 @ 7:59am
OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Officers don't know how he did it, but they are sure a police dog is to blame for putting his handler's truck into gear and running over a woman, seriously injuring her.

Mary F. Stone, 41, suffered pelvis and tailbone fractures and was expected to remain at McKay Dee Hospital for two or three more days, her husband, Paul Stone, said Wednesday.

The accident happened about 7 p.m. Tuesday when an Ogden police K-9 handler responded to a domestic disturbance call in his police 1999 Ford F-150.

The officer left his dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, in the truck with the sliding door between the bed and the cab open and the windows down in case Ranger had to be deployed, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck was running so the dog had air conditioning.

As police were responding to the domestic disturbance, Mary Stone was on her way to a roadside mailbox.

On the phone to her husband, she informed him there were police cars nearby.

"I said, 'Why don't you wait a few minutes,' " Paul Stone said. "She said, 'Oh, that's OK.' "

Draper said Ranger hit the shift on the steering column and put the automatic transmission into gear. The truck slowly moved forward, and police officers yelled at Mary Stone to move out of the way, but she remained in front of the truck, he said.

A front and rear tire ran over her, Paul Stone said. "She had tire marks on her clothes."

The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a vehicle in the driveway.

Draper said police are trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.

"The dog didn't step on the brake to put it in 'drive,' " Draper said.

Paul Stone was angry that no police had contacted him or his family.

"No one's called me," he said. "No one's said, 'I'm sorry we did this.' Nothing."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=357232

[mrsgrubby]

What an odd story...i bet the police get sued too, but I dont see how it is their fault...it seems to me like one of those accidents that no one is to blame.

Poor lady though, geez.

[Novel]

unfortunately, in today's court system, someone is always at fault. There is no such thing as an accident.

[mulroony]

The officer left his dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, in the truck with the sliding door between the bed and the cab open and the windows down in case Ranger had to be deployed, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck was running so the dog had air conditioning.

This does seem negligent to me. Not sure how well the AC would cool the back of a truck when the windows are open.

[richnrissa]

that type of "malfunction" is not common that i've ever heard of, especially if the vehicle is well maintained, which you would assume a cop would be...i wonder if the car was never fully engaged into park to begin with......

and i still dont get why the woman didnt move out of the way.

[Novel]

mulroony, it's pretty common practice to turn the AC on full blast for the K9 and leave the windows down. It's the best they can do and still be able to deploy the dog, because most departments cannot afford the automatic door openers which do not have the greatest reliability! I find it odd that they use an F-150 though... and unfortunately I have to agree with rissa that the officer perhaps did not get it fully engaged in park, and everyone has been trying to cover their butt since. And the only reason everyone has to run around like this is because they know they're getting sued!! If everyone wasn't so sue happy, people might actually take responsibility again!
And I'm with Rissa, I just don't understand why the lady didn't get out of the way! It doesn't mention anything about her being unable to move out of the way, just that she didnt. AND I hate to say it, but anyone who is so blase about domestic fights that are happening next door where multiple officers are responding that they go get their mail and ignore the "ACTION" are probably not living in the best neighborhood! This may not have anything to do with her being run over, but I find it interesting none the less.

[richnrissa]

no kidding Novel,
the last neighborhood we lived in was a 'once good neighborhood' that had seen a downturn, mainly in the teenage to 20's crowd and drugs,.........
we were leaving to go to my moms house once and on our way out the door we found ourselves face to face w/ 3 cops GUNS DRAWN sneaking up to the house next door to make a domestic arrest......i gaurentee you i did NOT stay and check the mail.......and we moved a few months later!!!

[Novel]

i gaurentee you i did NOT stay and check the mail

LOL!! Exactly!