Woman Injured in Motorcycle Crash with Water Department Truck Wants City to Pay

SAN ANGELO, TX — A woman injured while riding on a motorcycle that collided with a City of San Angelo Water Utilities Department Ford F-150 driven by a City employee is tangled in a lawsuit against the City. The crash happened Saturday afternoon on June 30, 2017. A discussion of the lawsuit happened during the Tuesday meeting of the San Angelo City Council in executive session, according to the agenda.

According to reports in 2017, San Angelo police responded to a crash between the City pickup and a 2002 Honda Shadow motorcycle with two riders. The driver of the motorcycle, 49 years old at the time of the crash, sustained incapacitating injuries. The passenger riding on the back of the motorcycle, 53 years old at the time, was treated at the scene. The motorcycle driver was not wearing a helmet but her passenger, and the plaintiff in the lawsuit the City discussed Tuesday, was.

The day of the crash, police did not say who caused the crash. However, after further investigation, police determined four days later that the City employee driving the F-150 failed to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign. The employee was driving north on Rust; the motorcycle with the two women riding it was westbound on Baker when the crash occurred.


The unhelmeted driver of the motorcycle was later flown Dallas and treated at Parkland Memorial Hospital. According to attorney Valeri Malone of Lubbock who is representing the motorcycle passenger named Sheila Andrews, the motorcycle driver nearly had her leg severed during the crash and has settled her claim against the City. Her client sustained a major blow to the head, likely an impact with the ground, Malone said.

Although Andrews was wearing a helmet, treated and released at the scene, in the hours and days after the crash, she began exhibiting signs of neck and head injuries, Malone said. Andrews’ lawsuit filed in district court in Tom Green County claims Andrews “sustained and suffered severe personal injuries to her head, face, shoulder/arm, chest/side, legs/knees, neck and back, and to her body generally.” Furthermore, Andrews suffers physical and mental pain to this day. The lawsuit suggests the pain may not subside for the rest of her life.

In addition to the injuries and continued pain, the lawsuit alleges the crash caused physical impairment and disfigurement.