WARREN — The family of a woman who was killed in a car crash in December 2020 has filed a lawsuit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court against three officers it claims behaved negligently, resulting in her death, along with the Newton Falls Police Department, the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office and the estate of the man who was driving the other car.

According to a crash report, Michael Haehner traveled over the center line and into the eastbound lane of state Route 82 near Horn Road in Windham, striking Tammy Bortz of Windham. Both drivers died at the scene. Toxicology tests found fentanyl in Haehner’s bloodstream during the autopsy, a report states.

Earlier that day, Haehner was seen by a clerk of the Duke and Duchess gas station walking away from his vehicle with a black book bag. Trumbull County 911 was called about the suspicious person and then-Newton Falls police Chief Gene Fixler was the first to respond.

Sgt. Stephen Storm of Newton Falls police and deputy Dallas Young of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office later arrived as backup. All three are named in the lawsuit, which alleges the three officers knew that Haehner was acting strangely, but did not perform a sobriety test on him and let him go. The lawsuit also notes that a syringe was found on the ground near Haehner when he was talking to the officers.

The lawsuit claims Fixler acknowledged to the store clerk that Haehner was “pretty messed up,” after the clerk told him that Haehner had tried walking into the window of the store, rather than the door.

The lawsuit states that despite the fact that Haehner was asleep or unconscious when police arrived, was exhibiting behavior consistent with being impaired and did not provide any form of identification to police, the three officers let him drive away from the convenience store. Seven miles and 10 minutes later, Haehner crashed into Bortz’s vehicle.

As a result, the lawsuit states the plaintiffs suffered damages for the loss of prospective inheritance, damages for the mental anguish caused by Bortz’s death and funeral and burial expenses in the amount of $11,275.

A trial by jury was requested by the plaintiff, who is demanding all six defendants pay an amount adequate to compensate Bortz’s beneficiaries for punitive damages, reasonable attorney fees and the cost of bringing the lawsuit.

Newton Falls and the three officers could not be reached for comment. On behalf of the sheriff’s office, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said his office does not generally comment on pending litigation, but confirmed this matter will be referred to CORSA, the county’s risk pool provider, for a coverage and defense determination.

Martin White of Warren is the attorney for the plaintiff. According to court records, the lawsuit was filed Wednesday and the matter was assigned to Judge Ronald J. Rice.

Newton Falls fired Fixler almost a year ago as a result of this incident and others. He is involved in separate actions that later were combined for the court as the former chief is asking for his firing to be reversed because of an alleged illegal council vote. That case is headed for a mediation hearing Dec. 8 and a possible jury trial March 27, 2023.

Young was terminated from the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office on March 31, 2021, as a result of an internal investigation done in connection with the Dec. 2, 2020, incident. He was hired at the Newton Falls Police Department the same day.