Neimeyer vs. SC Department of Public Safety

Case documents reveal the estate of a woman killed near Seneca when a car chased by the police crashed into her home has petitioned to settle civil claims with the state Department of Public Safety.  A court officer has confirmed to 101.7/WGOG NEWS that a hearing to consider the petition for the plaintiff, Shirley Neimeyer, personal representative of the estate of Vanessa Neimeyer, was held September 12.  The petition in the Oconee Common Pleas Court seeks to direct the defendant, the Department of Public Safety, to pay $175 thousand to settle “any and all claims” of the Vanessa Neimeyer estate in connection with her death in 2019.  At the time, Vanessa Neimeyer was in bed when a driver, fleeing a highway patrol checkpoint at speeds of up to an estimated 100 miles an hour, crashed through the home on 123 in front of the Wells Highway between Seneca and Clemson.  The car landed on top of her.  Last spring the driver, El Asia Hussain Muhammed, pleaded guilty in criminal court to failing to stop for a blue light that resulted in the woman’s death and was sentenced to a 12-year prison term.  The estate filed a wrongful death action naming the Department of Public Safety.  It alleged the troopers July 1, 2019 instituted a high-speed chase without appropriate justification and failed to end the pursuit when it became apparent that the pursuit created an unreasonable risk of danger to the public.