Wrongful death lawsuit against driver for Deputy Taylor’s death

Deputy Christopher Taylor’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against 30-year-old driver Cassandra Smith.

Smith responded to the suit saying she did nothing wrong.

Only 23 years old, Taylor had his whole life ahead of him.

“He had such a future. He was so young,” said Taylor’s father, Rich Taylor. “He was going to get married, you know.”

The Taylor family can’t bring Chris back, but they can hold the person they say caused the death accountable.

“For the pain and suffering encountered by Richard Taylor for the loss of his son,” Carlos Cavenago said, the Taylors’ attorney.

Christopher Taylor was performing a traffic stop on Interstate 75 north, in November, when crash investigators said Smith, while drunk, crossed three lanes of traffic and killed the deputy.

Smith was charged with DUI manslaughter. She is being held in jail without bond until trial.

That didn’t stop Smith’s lawyer from responding to the wrongful death lawsuit.

“It’s very shocking. It’s very difficult,” Cavenago said.

The court document filed from Smith’s attorney says the sole cause of the decedent’s injuries — if any — was the own efficient negligence of the decedent or some third party.

In essence, the deputy’s own carelessness — and negligence — caused his death.

Cavenago told WINK News the response is difficult for the Taylor family to take in. They can’t bring themselves to talk about it.

He spoke on the family’s behalf, “They’re extremely hurt, but with time, we’re gonna get through this, and we want the world to know that Deputy Taylor was an outstanding deputy. His supervisors loved him. He was on his way to becoming a rock star of a deputy. He loved his community and he loved protecting and serving other people.”

The Taylor family told WINK News the lawsuit is not about the money. It’s not even about revenge. It’s about Chris and doing anything they can to bring justice to his name.

When WINK News asked the sheriff’s office about the Smith response, they said that they loved Chris, and they’ve said everything they can say about him.