Medical records sought from crash involving officer

Kentucky State Police have asked a Whitley County Grand Jury to subpoena the medical records of a Williamsburg police officer and a local woman, who were involved in a serious crash on April 12, but so far haven’t asked the grand jury to consider filing any charges in connection to the crash.
Up until now few details have been made public regarding the accident involving Officer Brad Nighbert and Connie Jackson of Williamsburg, which occurred on US25W in front of Cumberland Regional Mall about 10:30 p.m. while Nighbert was on duty and driving his police cruiser on patrol.
KSP Trooper Greg Hill, the accident reconstructionist investigating the accident, appeared before the grand jury Monday morning for nearly 10 minutes.
Hill said he wasn’t at the grand jury Monday seeking an indictment, but subpoenas for the medical records from both parties.
When asked about possible accident factors such as speed and alcohol or drug involvement Hill responded that those would be listed in the accident reconstructionist report, which was completed and turned in last week. He referred questions concerning whether the accident is being investigated as a criminal case to officials at the state police post in London.
KSP Lt. Robert Massie said the case is currently an “open accident investigation” and wouldn’t say specifically whether it is being handled as a criminal investigation.
He said that state police aren’t releasing the reconstructionist report yet because it is part of an “open investigation” and hence not subject to the state open records law.
“There’s an investigation regarding the accident. The accident reconstructionist report and all that is contained within an open investigation. They are not subject to open records requests until the case is closed,” Massie said. “None of the facts in this investigation have been presented to the grand jury yet.”
He said cases aren’t closed until they are adjudicated.
In terms of the medical records being subpoenaed, Massie said, “we try to make sure we have everything that could shed any light on any of the facts surrounding the incident.”
Massie said the purpose of presenting it to the grand jury would be to “see if all the facts constitute an assault.”
On April 13, Nighbert was on duty and traveling southbound on US25W near Cumberland Regional Mall when he struck a minivan driven by Jackson of Ky. 92E.
Nighbert was pinned inside the vehicle as a result of the collision. Members of the Williamsburg Fire Department had to extricate Nighbert from his cruiser.
Nighbert was airlifted from the scene, and flown to the University of Kentucky Medical Center where he underwent a four-hour surgery to fix his leg, and has been off duty on medical leave since the wreck.
Jackson was transported to Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin where she was treated and released.
Both Nighbert and Jackson were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident.
The News Journal filed an open records request on June 15 to the Kentucky State Police Commissioners Office seeking to obtain a copy of the accident report.
KSP Trooper John Root, public affairs officer at the London post, had referred inquiries about getting copies of the report to Frankfort noting that the report wasn’t being released at the post level.
The accident report itself lists only a few details about the wreck, and under the narrative it indicates that the reconstruction report will follow.
Under human factors that could have contributed to the crash, the report lists “other” for Nighbert, and “none detected” for Jackson.
According to the Kentucky Uniform Police Traffic Collision Report, contributing factors that are specifically listed and that could be put on the accident report include: alcohol involvement, cell phone, disregard for traffic control, distraction, drug involvement, emotional, exceeded stated speed limit, failed to yield right of way, fatigue, fell asleep, following too close, improper backing, improper passing, inattention, lost consciousness, medication, misjudge clearance, not under proper control, overcorrecting, physical disability, sick, too fast for conditions, turning improperly, weaving in traffic, other, and none detected.
The report indicates that the crash was a head-on collision on a straight, level, dry roadway, and that the speed limit was 35 mph.
The report doesn’t list estimated travel speeds for either vehicle. It notes Jackson was making a left turn, and that Nighbert was going straight ahead.
No environmental or vehicle factors were listed for either driver. Neither driver was suspected of drinking, according to the report. The method for determining whether alcohol was suspected was listed as “observation” in Jackson’s case, and “other” in Nighbert’s case, according to the report.
In a letter dated June 20, Emily Perkins, an official with the custodian of record’s office, noted that while a copy of the accident report was being provided, a supplement to the report was being withheld. The supplement consists of a blood drug toxicology analysis pertaining to Nighbert.
Reasons for withholding the report were listed as exemptions in the open records law pertaining to release of records of a personal nature, and HIPAA restrictions.
“A toxicology report contains individually identifiable health information, the public disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy and is further protected from disclosure under federal law absent patient authorization, exemption, or court order specifically prepared for these types of records,” the letter states.
Nighbert is the son of Kentucky Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, who is a former Williamsburg Mayor.