Issue

Governmental—speed limit exceeded by police officer—no statutory waiver of immunity

Summary

In a negligence and wrongful death action filed against a city and a police officer (defendants) by the estate of a pedestrian who was struck and killed while the officer was driving to the scene of a domestic violence incident, the speed limit exemption in N.C.G.S. § 20-145–under which speed limits do not apply to police officers while chasing or apprehending violators of the law or to other vehicle operators traveling in response to an emergency–did not operate as a statutory waiver of governmental immunity. Section 20-145, with its focus on individual drivers and individual actions and inclusion of non-governmental actors, contained no plain or clear legislative mandate withdrawing immunity from a discrete government body.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →