Family of innocent man killed in 2022 crash caused by police chase in Wilkinsburg files lawsuit

WILKINSBURG, Pa. — A newly released body camera video shows officers discussing the end of a police chase that killed an innocent man in 2022.

The family of the man killed has now filed a lawsuit over his death against the Monroeville Police Department.

>> Police investigating officer-involved shooting after fatal hit-and-run in Wilkinsburg

Channel 11′s Cara Sapida spoke with the family’s attorney who says it was a tragedy waiting to happen.

The police chase passed through a busy stretch of road on Aug. 26, 2022, as Luiz Hernandez, a father of three, was making his way home from work when the suspect’s car struck and killed him. Hernandez’s family says the police should never have started a high-speed chase in the first place.

The last time we spoke to the Hernandez family they were mourning the sudden loss. He was an innocent bystander on his way home from work on a mini motorbike when the chase came speeding through and hit him.

The family spoke out about their anger with the police’s decision to pursue a suspect, Jack Sherwood, who had a warrant out for his arrest.

“They never should have chased him on a Friday night at 100 mph down William Penn Highway. It was an accident and a tragedy waiting to happen,” attorney Bob Daley said.

Daley is now representing the Hernandez family and suing the Monroeville police chief and several officers saying Hernandez’s average commute home turned fatal when interrupted by the defendant’s unlawful high-speed pursuit.

Newly released police body camera footage from after the fatal crash shows an officer speaking on the scene.

And the Monroeville chief arriving from a ballgame, saying he thought about trying to call the chase off.

Sherwood was arrested a short time later at his mother’s home. Hernandez died a few hours later at the hospital.

Channel 11 reached out to the Monroeville police chief for comment. He thanked us for offering him the opportunity but said he couldn’t make a statement due to ongoing litigation.

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