By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Two women who were reportedly injured in a car crash involving a Pawtucket Police cruiser two years ago are suing the city for $1 million.

In a notice of claim that has been filed with the City Clerk’s Office, Samantha Sloan and Melissa Palmer say through their attorney that the police cruiser that struck their car was being driven in a “wantonly reckless manner” and in “violation of state law.”

The case involves a collision that occurred at the intersection of Bates Street and Benefit Street at around 2:43 a.m. on May 6, 2006. According to reports, Police Officers Daniel Ashford and Derek Smith were responding to a call about a large disturbance when their cruiser collided with the car carrying Sloan and Palmer. Sloan was reportedly driving and Palmer was a passenger.

All four victims were transported to local hospitals and later released, police said.

The notice of the $1 million claim is scheduled to be taken up today when the City Council Committee on Claims and Pending Suits meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The women’s attorney, Edward Manning of Providence, declined to discuss any particular details of the case or specify the nature of the damages. However, he said the lawsuit is based on the contention that “police negligence was a direct and proximate cause of the accident.”

Manning said that both Sloan and Palmer suffered injuries in the crash and were taken to a hospital for treatment. He said that one of the women had incurred a broken bone and both women had other injuries, but said he did not want to elaborate at this time. The attorney noted, however, that the damage to the vehicle was severe enough to warrant the Jaws of Life being used by rescue personnel.  

“We’re confident in the case, and we believe the facts will bear out at a trial, if necessary,” said Manning. “We have independent witnesses who will verify the facts at trial.”

Assistant City Solicitor Frank Milos said it is the city’s position is that it is not liable in the claim. “It was an intersection accident, and it is my understanding that both officers in the Pawtucket cruiser indicated that the claimant ran the stop sign,” he said.

Milos said he is aware that there are “two versions of the story,” but said he supports the officers’ claim that they saw Sloan go through a stop sign. He said that in Sloan’s account, she said she did stop for the stop sign, but then felt that she had enough time to pass through the intersection. He said that the officers were traveling on Benefit Street, which has no stop sign, and Sloan was on Bates Street, which does have the stop sign.

Milos said that the claim for damages will either be denied by the Claims Committee or be referred to the city’s legal department.