Winnebago County agrees to pay Rockford family $3.3M over fatal crash

Winnebago County has agreed to a $3.3 million settlement with the family of Joy Lambert, a Rockford woman who was driving to work Feb. 8, 2016, when a driver fleeing from a Winnebago County Sheriff's deputy at speeds that reached 91 mph slammed into her car.

The Rev. Maurice West, a friend who went to the scene of the crash to comfort family members, said police have a responsibility to not only keep the public safe, but ensure their safety while enforcing the law. West has long felt that Lambert's death was difficult to swallow because it followed a police chase of a suspect for what started as a minor traffic infraction.

The deputy could not have known who was in the vehicle, West said.

"It would be more understandable if they were chasing felons and then a horrible accident occurred," West said. "I am just really glad it's over with. It gives the family a chance to move past this. I hope that if an apology was not issued, at least they can take comfort in the fact that there has been a settlement and if nothing else, by the settlement, there is, in my mind, some admission of wrongdoing or at least an admission of an apology."

A spokeswoman for the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office said the settlement did not include any admission of fault. She declined to say what was discussed during settlement negotiations or if an apology was offered to the family.

Sheriff Gary Caruana did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But Caruana had months before Lambert's death loosened restrictions on deputies to perform police chases, saying that there was an epidemic of drivers fleeing traffic stops. He also previously offered his condolences to Lambert's family and blamed the driver of the vehicle that fled from the traffic stop for Lambert's death.

Video of the crash obtained by the Rockford Register Star after a public records lawsuit, shows Deputy Christopher Moski had decided to terminate the pursuit through morning rush-hour traffic five seconds before the crash at the intersection of Springfield Avenue and Cunningham Road.

Lambert was a 55-year-old wife who had been married her high school sweetheart for 37 years. She was also a mother, active church member and longtime BMO Harris Bank employee. Her husband, Claudis, said during a 2016 interview that he thought of her "every day, every moment," and that "the chase never should have occurred."

Lambert's Buick was annihilated when a rented Ford Fusion — driven by Laronda Graham, now 30, who had fled a traffic stop for speeding — ran a red light.

A witness said the crash was like seeing a snowball explode against a brick wall.

Lambert's vehicle was ripped in half and she was killed. Graham and her passenger, Eric L. Brown, were severely injured.

Graham was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison for reckless homicide and one year for fleeing to elude police after pleading guilty. She was released from prison in 2019 and completed requirements of parole in March 2020, according to information from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Brown was on parole from a 2014 weapons charge and police said he had 2.3 grams of heroin and 1.7 grams of marijuana in his possession at the time of the crash. However, drug possession charges were later dismissed. Brown was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of being an armed habitual criminal stemming from other cases, according to Winnebago County court records.

Jeff Kolkey can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at [email protected] and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Fatal crash after police chase settled, Winnebago County to pay $3.3M