Travis County will pay for damage to SUV

Travis County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved paying more than $12,000 to Farmers Insurance for damage caused to an SUV in a May collision with a Travis County patrol car.

On May 13, Deputy Dennis Malinger was responding to an emergency —without his lights or sirens activated —when he ran a stop sign, according to a county document.
The cruiser hit the left side of a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban owned and driven by Maria Mendez, the document said.

Malinger violated an office policy relating to response to emergency calls when he drove through the intersection without his lights and sirens, sheriff’s department spokesman Roger Wade said. On Aug. 11, Mellinger Was told to work 40 hours without pay as punishment, which he has completed, Wade said.

The $12,024.76 settlement, approved at a regular Commissioners Court meeting, was the result of a claim submitted to the county.

Both vehicles were heavily damaged, and both drivers were injured in the crash, according to the county document. The Suburban Was deemed a total loss.
Mendez was treated at a hospital; her bodily injury claim will be settled later, the document said.