WASILLA -- The City of Wasilla has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed last year by a woman injured during a high-speed police pursuit of a drunk driver.

In August 2006, Jennifer Setters was driving the Glenn Highway home to Wasilla when a red pickup driven by 35-year-old Martha Harper with patrol cars in pursuit swerved across the median and smashed into Setters' Ford Expedition near the Knik River bridge.

Setters claimed police violated the city's pursuit policy and partially caused the accident in which she suffered broken ribs and ankle, a concussion and back and neck injuries that have left her unable to work. She underwent ankle surgery, as well as months of physical therapy for back problems that didn't go away or got worse, court documents say.

The settlement was filed just a few weeks before the case was set to go to trial in Anchorage Superior Court.

Wasilla's decision to settle doesn't mean the city is taking any blame for what happened, city representatives said.

The city's insurance company decided it would be cheaper than going to trial, Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright said.

"If you fight everything, then oftentimes you find yourself with your premiums skyrocketing," said Rupright, a defense attorney by trade. "Where people may think you're an easy target, you're really not an easy target, especially when your attorney's good enough to get a settlement low enough where the insurance company says it's cheaper to pay."

Setters, through her attorney, said she was happy with the settlement, which she said reflects the city's responsibility in causing the accident.

Her attorney, Keenan Powell, said her client remains out of work because of her injuries. Setters lost her job as a billing clerk after the accident, Powell said.

The attorney estimated that Setters' medical costs and lost wages were between $2.5 and $4 million. The most recent complaint in the case, filed last January, lists some 70 medical visits for problems ranging from a broken ankle to whiplash and ongoing lower back pain.

Setters is also involved in an unresolved lawsuit against GEICO, her insurance company, claiming the company never offered her coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorists like Harper, as required by state law, Powell said.

CHASE BEGINS

The chase at the center of the case started around 5 p.m. Aug. 11, 2006. Several people called Wasilla police dispatch, alerting them to an "extremely reckless driver," according to court documents, which describe the incident as follows:

Wasilla police officer Jentry Crain happened to be parked on Seward-Meridian Parkway on another call when he saw Harper driving toward him in the ditch.

Crain watched the red pickup swerve back onto the road, briefly take to the air, then force other vehicles out of the way. The pickup stopped after Crain signaled the driver, but then Harper backed up and accelerated toward him.

Crain drew his firearm but had to jump out of the way. He got into his car and started the pursuit.

The pickup ran a red light and headed for Anchorage on the Parks Highway, weaving across lanes and bouncing off a guardrail before careening back onto the road, the documents say.

Crain, after getting close enough to read the license plate, dropped back eight to 10 car lengths. Another officer joined the pursuit, 15 car lengths behind Crain.

TRUCK GOING 100 MPH

The truck was travelling about 100 mph by the time it passed the Glenn Highway Interchange. The Anchorage Police Department planned to set up spike strips to stop it farther up the highway.

About six minutes and eight miles later, Harper lost control and collided with another truck also headed southbound. Her left front tire blew out, she swerved across the median into oncoming traffic and collided with Setters.

Setters claimed the city violated its own pursuit policy, and that it was "unreasonably dangerous" to chase Harper at speeds upwards of 100 mph when police knew Anchorage officers were setting up spike strips down the highway. The officers, and their supervisor, also failed to take into account how crowded roads would be with commuters, according to court documents.

The city's policy states pursuits are "limited to extreme conditions which demand the immediate capture of a law violator" and must be discontinued "if the pursuit becomes a greater threat to life or property than any threat reasonably posed by the violator."

Superior Court Judge Peter Ashman in August denied motions from both parties for summary judgment.

As part of his decision, Ashman addressed Setters' contention that police caused Harper's dangerous driving: "A reasonable jury could find that Harper would have continued to speed down the highway, she was already driving extremely recklessly prior to her contact with Officer Crain," the judge wrote.

DRIVER STILL IN JAIL

Harper, arrested on 13 felony charges including assault, DUI and reckless driving, pleaded no contest to two assault charges and the DUI, and received a nine-year jail sentence.

She remains jailed at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.

This was the first "pursuit-generated lawsuit" in the roughly 17-year history of the Wasilla Police Department, said acting police chief Craig Robinson, who said he wasn't worried that the settlement opened the door for more legal actions down the line.

"I think we're doing pretty well," Robinson said.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

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