LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – A lawsuit was filed on Feb. 4 following the December 2018 death of a 13-year-old who died in a crash during a police pursuit.
The lawsuit is seeking damages for the wrongful death of Ki’Anthony Tyus against a Louisville Metro Police Department officer who was involved in the police pursuit that led up to the crash, according to the lawsuit. It was filed by Tyus' mother.
The lawsuit claims an officer disregarded the department's pursuit policy.
Tyus is known in the Louisville community for surviving a shooting in 2015 when he was 9-year-old. He turned his experience into encouragement as he worked to keep others away from the violence that had impacted his life.
On December 22, LMPD said, officers tried to pull over a black Lexus SUV that had been reported stolen around 8:30 p.m. while driving on I-65 southbound near Crittenden Drive. Police said the driver of the Lexus swerved towards the officers, causing two officers to crash their cruisers. The two officers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Another officer continued to chase the driver, who turned onto Fern Valley Road and eventually lost control and hit a utility pole. According to police, there were five people inside the car, including four minors. Police said one person tried to run away but was caught by police. Three of the people inside the car were taken to the hospital.
Tyus was one of the minors in the SUV and had died in the crash.
2X said in December, Ki'Anthony's family did not know why he was in the vehicle and Ki'Anthony had told his grandmother he was going skating that day.