(July 7) - The cash-strapped state of California will shell out $335,000 to settle a lawsuit filed over a former lawmaker's crazy driving, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.
Carole Migden, then a state senator from San Francisco, rear-ended another motorist following a wild drive on May 18, 2007, the newspaper said.
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Rich Pedroncelli, AP
State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, is shown May 24, 2007, about a week after she was involved in a car crash. The state is paying $335,000 to settle a suit filed by a motorist whose car was struck by Migden's vehicle.
The Chronicle said several people called 911 to report Migden's erratic driving as she weaved in and out of traffic in her state-issued vehicle. One caller reported the driver was "on the phone and reading a book, doing about 80 miles an hour."
Migden's 30-mile spree ended when her vehicle slammed into a 2005 Honda sedan driven by Ellen Butawan, who was slowing for a red light, the Chronicle said, quoting the California Highway Patrol.
Butawan, who suffered minor injuries, sued the state and Migden in Solano County Superior Court. The state defended Migden because the accident occurred while she was acting within the scope of her state employment, said Steven Gercer, supervising deputy attorney general.
He told the Chronicle the state had agreed to pay $335,000 to settle the suit.
California lawmakers are currently struggling to close a $26.3 billion deficit.
Migden said at the time that she remembered little of the drive and suggested that medication she was taking for treatment of leukemia may have been to blame. She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was fined $710. Her license was suspended for several months.
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