Woman Crippled by Speeding Officer Clings to Hope as Lawsuit Continues

JONESBORO, Ark. – It has been almost five years since we reported on the challenges faced by Haley Johnson Boyd.

In May 2017, a serious traffic accident occurred at the intersection of Flint Street and West Huntington Avenue in Jonesboro, involving Patrolman Michael Talley, who is now part-time with the Jonesboro Police Department, and a 1998 Toyota RAV4. According to the lawsuit, the officer was on his cell phone, speeding, not in “hot pursuit,” and not wearing a seat belt. He failed to stop at a stop sign, resulting in a collision between his patrol unit and the vehicle containing Haley and her family.

The impact caused extensive damage to both vehicles and nearby property, including a fire hydrant propelled through a business’s front door. The crash inflicted severe injuries to the occupants of the RAV4, with Carolyn Johnson, Haley’s grandmother, suffering a broken wrist and cracked ribs, Michael Johnson sustaining a fractured ankle, and Haley experiencing a spinal fracture that led to paralysis. Two years later, Haley had lost all use of her legs and experienced muscle atrophy, severely limiting her mobility and independence. She has been confined to a wheelchair since 2017.

The lawsuit alleges Talley’s negligent acts caused the wreck. Most of these claims are backed up by the disciplinary report we obtained May 21, 2019.

“You failed to stop your vehicle and entered the intersection and were struck by another vehicle which had the right of way, causing extensive damage to both vehicles and other property,” said the report approved by Capt. Kelly Baggett.

The report goes on to say the wreck was due to Talley’s “negligent driving and disregard for conditions.” For this, Talley was reprimanded with a two day suspension.

New Developments

When NEA Report first reported on the lawsuit, Haley was represented by Doug Brimhall. However, as of December 17, 2021, she is represented by Luther Sutter and Lucien Gillham of Sutter & Gillham, P.L.L.C.

Sutter and Gillham amended the original complaint to include new arguments, including that the city misspent public funds by purchasing “insurance” from the Arkansas Municipal League, allegedly not licensed to provide insurance in Arkansas. The amended complaint says that, “AML’s scheme has created reserves of millions of dollars, with none of this money subject to appropriation by the people elected to appropriate public money.” The defendants’ attorney denied all allegations in the response.

Sutter told NEA Report he took the case because of the injustice in it all. He also said he hopes to correct what he described as the AML’s “hypocrisy.”

After a number of judges recused themselves from the case, the Arkansas Supreme Court assigned it to Special Judge Bentley Story on June 29, 2022.

Court records show that Talley gave his deposition on April 17, 2024, in Jonesboro.

The filing on April 18, 2024 attempts to declare ACA 21-9-301, the statute granting qualified immunity to Talley, as unconstitutional.

The immunity statute at issue reads:

(a) It is declared to be the public policy of the State of Arkansas that all counties, municipal corporations, school districts, public charter schools, special improvement districts, law enforcement agencies for and certified law enforcement officers employed by a public or private institution of higher education, and all other political subdivisions of the state and any of their boards, commissions, agencies, authorities, or other governing bodies shall be immune from liability and from suit for damages except to the extent that they may be covered by liability insurance.
(b) No tort action shall lie against any such political subdivision because of the acts of its agents and employees.

In his filing, Sutter argues that the City of Jonesboro is not an institution of higher education, thus, the plain language of the statute prohibits interpretation of granting immunity to individuals.

On Monday, April 29, 2024, Sutter filed a new amended complaint in the case. He wrote that, “While recklessly traveling at a high rate of speed too fast for conditions in a police car, Talley was on his phone and distracted in violation of Paul’s Law which caused Plaintiffs to be injured. This conduct rendered the patrol car a deadly weapon.”

Sutter contends that Talley committed common law battery, felony second degree battery, and felony aggravated assault because he was not acting in the course or scope of his duty as an officer.

The complaint prays for a trial by jury and damages exceeding $10 million.

MORE: Amended Complaint

The Victims

Haley’s life changed forever in 2017. Before the accident, she recalled how she lived a happy life. She was healthy. She said she enjoyed being active and on-the-go.

As she spoke to a reporter this week, that’s all a memory.

“I can’t really get out,” Haley said. “I’m kind of depressed a lot of times. I have to stay in the house a lot.”

Life is not the same for Haley, now, and may never be again. Her dream of being able to walk again has still not come true – but she’s not given up hope. Even while battling constant health woes, Haley has maintained a surprisingly positive attitude.

Haley tries to stay as active as she can. However, her injured spine makes that difficult.

“Sometimes I can’t get out as much as I’d like to because I start hurting really bad from sitting in the chair for long periods of time,” Haley said.

At 73, Carolyn now spends much of her life caring for her granddaughter, who she helped raise. Although Carolyn suffered serious injuries too, they weren’t as permanently devastating as Haley’s.

“I haven’t been able to sleep in a bed since the wreck,” Carolyn said. “I don’t know why. The ribs that were broken on my right side, when I lay in a bed or try to get in a bed, I still have popping and crackling going on in my chest. The doctor said that’s just normal. I’ll have that going on everyday for the rest of my life. Everything was torn and ripped in there. I have a motorized chair I sleep in.”

Carolyn said Haley has been in the hospital repeatedly since the accident. In 2023, she was there from September through December and went back for an operation in January this year. According to Carolyn, Haley nearly died twice. Haley developed kidney stones and without knowing the problems, they led to sepsis. She was in an induced coma and there were fears she would need her legs amputated. Fortunately, she did not.

But Carolyn fears these health scares will continue.

“She’s suffering constantly,” Carolyn said. “It’s basically taken her life away.”

Even after five years, Haley still has the same dream of being able to walk again. However, she knows she can’t do it alone. She needs intense and regular therapy, not all of which is covered by her insurance or Medicaid. Her hope from the lawsuit is that she will be able to obtain the resources needed to have enough therapy. 

“My doctors said I would never walk again but my therapist has faith that if I get into gym or therapy, they think I could.” Haley said.