SIMI VALLEY : Report on Police Accident Released

A Simi Valley police officer was driving at speeds of 67 to 83 m.p.h. last month just before his cruiser slammed into a nurse’s station wagon in front of the Metrolink station, a report released Thursday showed.

The report by the California Highway Patrol said Officer Rick Rinehart had braked for one to two seconds and slowed to about 53 m.p.h. just before his police-issue Chevrolet Caprice slammed into a Honda driven by Peggy Sphar.

Sphar’s car was moving about 4 m.p.h. as she left the Metrolink parking lot, the report said.

The report also includes a computerized diagram of the accident showing that the impact spun Sphar’s compact car around several times before it came to rest. It also notes that Rinehart’s cruiser left no skid marks because it is equipped with anti-lock brakes.

The report did not state whether Rinehart’s emergency flashers and sirens were on when the crash occurred.

Sphar, 45, of Simi Valley, who was thrown from the car, suffered major head injuries and was left in a coma by the crash.

A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday that Sphar had not awakened but her condition “is progressing.”

A lawyer for Sphar’s family has told the city that the family intends to file a lawsuit over the accident.

Sphar’s family and lawyer could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

Police and city officials declined to comment on the report, which Simi Valley police commissioned from the CHP’s Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team on April 13, the day of the crash.

On Thursday, the Simi Valley city attorney’s office issued this statement: “The city has received a letter from an attorney representing Mrs. Sphar and her family indicating the accident may result in litigation. Given that fact, there will be no comment on this matter.”

The City Council voted Monday to install a light at the Metrolink entrance on Los Angeles Avenue--a plan drafted a year ago to help control increasing traffic there.

City officials said the April 13 accident was the first one at that intersection.