Parents of Rochester teen killed in high-speed crash with trooper file federal wrongful death lawsuit

The parents of an 18-year-old girl who was killed in a crash with a state trooper in May have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the law enforcement official, alledging wrongful death and violation of her 14th Admendment rights.

Trooper Shane Roper was charged in Olmsted County in connection to the Rochester crash with one count of second-degree manslaughter, five counts of criminal vehicular operation, one count of reckless driving and one count of careless driving. He has entered a not-guilty plea.

Olivia Flores died a day after the crash that Olmsted County prosecutors called a high-speed crash, saying Roper’s squad was traveling at 83 mph — more than twice the speed limit in the area — and its lights and sirens off when it T-boned a Ford Focus carrying Olivia Flores and her friends.

RELATED: Trooper charged for crash that resulted in teen’s death pleads not guilty, trial scheduled

Carlos and Stephanie Flores are seeking a variety of damages on behalf of their daughter in the lawsuit, which alleges two counts of violation of the 14th Amendment and one count of wrongful death.

The 14th Amendment is the protection of life, liberty and property rights to any person, and prohibits depriving these rights by any State or individual acting under the law.

The lawsuit alleges that the trooper “created a clear danger to those around him and in this path as he drove in a criminally reckless manner.” It went on to say that Roper “failed to protect Ms. Flores from the danger he created and that she would not have faced but for Defendant Roper’s criminally reckless conduct.”

The lawsuit makes the claim that his actions showed “Olivia was deprived of her 14th Amendment rights though his deliberate indifference…”

The wrongful death count is specific Minnesota law, which allows trustees for next of kin to “assert a wrongful death action where the death is caused by the wrongful act or omission of any person.”

The filing alleges that becuase of the trooper’s “unlawful acts and omissions,” Olivia died and her parents, acting as her next of kin, suffered many losses both financially and mentally. They are seeking damages in an amount to be determined by a jury, along with other financial factors.

The lawsuit can be read in full below.