Left inset: Michael Keen (Pamela Martin/WFTS). Right inset: The Dodge Charger patrol car that Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Devin Wooden was driving when he crashed into Vietnam War veteran Michael Keen in 2021 (John Castro/WFTS). Background: The scene of the 2021 crash involving Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Devin Wooden and Michael Keen (WFTS/YouTube).
A Florida widow is getting ready to go to trial this week in a civil battle against a local sheriff's office, claiming it is "vicariously liable" for a deputy-involved crash that killed her 74-year-old husband. Her lawsuit alleges that the cop was driving 97 mph in a 50 mph zone around 7:30 a.m. without his emergency lights or sirens on while responding to a school bus fight.
"This was not a life-threatening situation," attorney John Castro, who represents widow Pamela Martin, told local ABC affiliate WFTS. "Do you think most people would have gotten away with that had they hit somebody at 97 miles an hour?" Castro asked.
Martin, who is suing the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, told WFTS that her husband Michael Keen — a Vietnam War veteran and retired commercial truck driver — died a week after being hospitalized following the Feb. 26, 2021, crash.
"They removed his life support and within an hour he was gone," Martin said. "Why in the world would they allow their deputies to go almost double the speed limit on a surface road at that hour of the morning when there's other people on the road too?"
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
In their legal complaint and other court filings, Castro and Martin allege that HCSO Deputy Devin S. Wooden was operating a 2015 Dodge Charger patrol car "negligently" at the time of the collision with Keen, who was traveling eastbound on State Road 60 in a 1996 Toyota T100 pickup truck.
Keen was attempting to turn left to go north on Currie Davis Drive when Wooden, who was traveling westbound on State Road 60, "crashed directly into the side of Keen's vehicle, violently impacting Keen's body and causing serious damage" to his truck, according to the complaint. Wooden was "traveling at approximately 97 mph, without lights and/or sirens," before slamming into Keen and pinning his truck against a utility pole, the complaint says.
"Wooden failed to observe the vehicle being operated by Keen," the document alleges. "The defendant, HCSO, is vicariously liable for the negligence of its employee/agent, Wooden, committed in the course and scope of his employment related duties."
Surveillance video from a nearby car dealership allegedly shows Keen waiting for traffic to clear as he prepares to turn. Black box data shows that Wooden was driving nearly 100 mph when the crash occurred, according to Castro. Body camera footage obtained by WFTS also allegedly features audio of Wooden telling a state trooper, "I can't stay under the radar to save my life," while at the crash scene.
"They always say to serve and protect. They didn't serve Michael and they didn't protect him," Martin told WFTS. "If he'd have only been going 70 miles an hour … we wouldn't be sitting here today."
Attorneys for the sheriff's office blame Keen for what happened, claiming he "conducted himself in a careless or negligent manner, and said carelessness or negligence was a contributing cause or was the sole proximate cause of the injuries and damages alleged," according to court documents. They've offered at least three theories on why Keen is ultimately to blame, according to Castro, including an allegation that he was not wearing his seat belt, which Castro denies.
"Defendant's theory of the case centered on the alleged negligence of Michael Keen, both in his operation of the motor vehicle on the date of crash and through his failure to wear a seat belt," Castro wrote in an Oct. 27 filing, which accused the HCSO attorneys of seeking to add an "entirely new theory of the case" that Keen's vehicle failed to meet the standards for "occupant crash protection, seat belt assemblies, seat belt assembly anchorages, and collision safety standards," per the filing.
"Now, on the eve of trial, defendant seeks to add entirely new affirmative defenses, at odds with its previous theory of the case, by introducing the question of Toyota's negligence," Castro said. He notes in court documents that it was actually Wooden who was allegedly not wearing a seat belt, as shown in the initial crash report. The deputy did not face any charges or disciplinary action in connection with the crash.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday.
