Devin PetersonThe state of Nevada is being sued by a woman whose car was stolen by a drug-trafficking suspect who killed himself with a state trooper's shotgun after a chase on Interstate 80 east of Reno.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Marie Coates of Fernley seeks $1 million for negligence from the state, the Department of Public Safety and Highway Patrol Trooper David Nivarel.
Devin Peterson escaped with Nivarel's cruiser during a traffic stop and search for drugs on Jan. 28.
Officers in pursuit shot out his tires near the exit for the Mustang Ranch brothel. The 22-year-old Jacksonville, Florida, man then ordered Coates out of her car at gunpoint. He eventually crashed her Grand Prix near Fernley 30 miles east of Reno before shooting himself in the chest.
Coates is seeking damages for "extreme emotional distress."
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
(The Associated Press)
