FALKVILLE, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) – Authorities in Alabama say a police pickup truck crashed into the patio of a Chipotle Mexican Grill, injuring four people, including an 8-year-old girl.
Falkville City Attorney Larry Madison spoke to WAFF about the Monday night incident that took place at a Chipotle in Decatur. Officer Brandon Knutson, the police officer involved, works for the Falkville Police Department.
Madison says Knutson was transporting an inmate to the Morgan County Jail, and on his way back, he stopped for his dinner break. The officer parked and got out of his Ford F-150 to go inside the Chipotle.
Knutson claims the truck then malfunctioned and rolled backward, hitting and crushing an 8-year-old girl who was sitting on the restaurant’s patio with her family. The girl was flown to a hospital with broken ribs.
Decatur Police, who responded to the scene just before 8 p.m., say one other child and two adults were injured in the incident and had to be taken to the hospital.
The attorney for the 8-year-old girl’s family said Wednesday that she is now home, healing and resting.
Heather Saavedra, the girl’s aunt, says she believes Knutson did not handle the situation well.
“After he hit them, he gets out and yells at them instead of asking and making sure they are OK. He yells at them and tells them they don’t need treatment, they don’t need to go to the hospital or anything, and that is just not something you do,” Saavedra said.
Falkville Police officials say Knutson was shaken up by what happened and is taking some time off by his own choice.
Madison says Knutson told him a warning came up on the truck’s dashboard. The initial investigation revealed a possible malfunction that caused the truck to roll back. The dashboard inside read, “Shift System Fault.”
Because of this incident, Madison is implementing a new protocol. He says that officers who drive the F-150 trucks will now have to turn off their parked vehicles.
“What we have determined to do is any time we make a stop for whatever reason, we are going to shut the vehicles off until we get further word from Ford about what we need to be doing,” Madison said.
A Falkville Police official says that many Ford F-150 trucks just like the one used by the department have been recalled. The manager of a local Ford dealership says there are no current recalls of this type of truck suddenly reversing.
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