Husband of cyclist killed in crash sues DEA agent, Salem police

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The husband of a Salem cyclist who was killed in a collision in 2023 is suing the U.S. DEA agent who caused the crash, his federal employer and the city of Salem, alleging they failed to train the agent to drive safely while performing surveillance and created a faulty policy for when agents can break traffic laws.

Mark Meleason filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in Eugene U.S. District Court over the death of his wife, Marganne Allen, 53 in March 2023. He is seeking a jury trial and $2.5 million in economic damages.

The agent, Samuel Landis, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with the Salem Police Department and Oregon State Police, which were working with the DEA on a drug task force at the time of the crash. The suit also named the Oregon Department of Justice, which defends the state in lawsuits.

READ IT: Civil complaint

The lawsuit comes six weeks after a federal judge dropped a negligent homicide charge against Landis, ending the criminal case against the agent. At the time of the crash, he was part of a team surveilling a suspected drug trafficker and had been speeding through a central Salem neighborhood. He caused the crash by running a stop sign while he was trying to catch up with his team, according to the agent’s court testimony in November.

The judge found that Landis is entitled to immunity from prosecution because he reasonably believed he needed to run the stop sign to perform his federal duties and that it was safe to do so. 

The state justice department is appealing the dismissal at the request of the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the criminal case.

Meleason declined to comment while the lawsuit and the appeal in the criminal case are still pending. “Thank you for your interest in this case, it means a lot to us. Right now, it’s in our best interest to refrain from any further comments,” he told Salem Reporter.

Attorney Brian Lathen is representing Meleason in the lawsuit.

Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick said the city does not comment on pending litigation.

Cpt. Kyle Kennedy, state police spokesman, said the agency was reviewing the lawsuit but also declined to comment.

The DEA and state DOJ did not respond to emails seeking comment on Thursday.

Allen, an executive with the state Department of Agriculture, was riding home from work on the afternoon of March 28, 2023.

Landis at the time was part of a surveillance team with the drug task force gathering information about a suspected fentanyl trafficker.

“There were no exigent circumstances surrounding the surveillance where any of the task force members needed to speed or disobey traffic control devices to accomplish their task,” according to the lawsuit.

Just before the crash, the suspect suddenly cut across at least one traffic lane to turn right from Southeast Liberty Street onto Southeast Mission Street. Several agents, including Landis, couldn’t safely make the same turn and instead continued north on Liberty. They each tried to loop around onto Mission and rejoin the rest of their team.

Traffic investigators pegged Landis’ speed down Leslie Street at 37 miles per hour in his Dodge Ram pickup truck. 

In court testimony in November, Landis described slowing down as he approached the stop sign and ducking forward to get a clear picture of the intersection. He said he believed he could proceed safely through the Southeast High Street intersection without stopping and that he needed to do so to keep up with his team.

Court records showed Landis ran the stop sign at about 18 miles per hour into the path of Allen, who had the right of way as she cycled down a hill on High Street through the intersection.

Allen died shortly after arriving at the emergency room, according to the lawsuit.

The suit said the DEA, Salem police and state police allowed Landis and their other task force agents to break traffic laws intended to protect people like Allen from injury or death.

The agencies also failed to properly train Landis on how to drive safely while performing surveillance, properly supervise him and properly plan surveillance on the day of the crash, according to the suit. “They failed to form a proper policy on how and when an agent such as Defendant Landis can/should disobey state traffic laws, when they knew, or should have known an improper policy could lead to injuries/death of civilians,” the suit alleges.

Meleason alleged that Landis was negligent in failing to keep “a proper or adequate lookout” to avoid striking bicyclists and driving at a speed “greater than was reasonable and prudent.”

He said Landis violated state traffic laws by failing to yield to Allen’s right of way, running a stop sign and driving carelessly.

The lawsuit also said Landis violated Allen’s 14th Amendment right to personal security by exposing her to “a known, or obvious danger.”

“Landis acted with deliberate indifference to the lives of those around the residential area, including Marganne Allen,” the suit alleges.

In addition to economic damages, he is seeking an amount of non-economic damages to be determined during a trial.

Meleason said in the suit that the loss of Allen caused him “mental and physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress,” and resulted in their family’s “loss of society, companionship and services.”

RELATED COVERAGE:

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DEA agent faces state felony charge in death of Salem cyclist

Video shows driver ran stop sign in fatal collision with Salem cyclist

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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