Greg Curtis, the deputy whose wife was involved in an accident involving  pedestrian Dawn Littrell on June 27 in the Rolla Wal-Mart parking lot is no longer employed with the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department.
Phelps County Sheriff Don Blankenship confirmed the separation Friday.
“As of two days ago, Greg Curtis is no longer with the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department. I can’t discuss any details because it involves personnel,” Blankenship said.
Friday marked the second day Curtis’ Phelps County Sheriff’s Department cruiser was not parked at the Curtis’s home on Missouri Route 72. The car has been idle on the Sheriff’s Department parking lot.
It is unclear whether Curtis resigned or whether he was dismissed as a result of the accident in which his wife was uninsured.
The Rolla Daily News attempted to contact Curtis on Friday to confirm whether he resigned or was let go, but received no response from telephone messages.
On June 27, Curtis’ wife, Aimee, struck pedestrian Littrell on the Wal-Mart parking lot. Littrell, subsequently, was informed via mail by the Curtis’s insurance company they were uninsured.
Upon hearing that Curtis had left the Sheriff’s Department, Littrell expressed dismay.
“I hate to hear that he lost his job,” Littrell said. “That is certainly not what I wanted to happen. I feel that the whole situation could have been avoided if the Curtises had been more forthcoming and handled the situation in a more compassionate way. I don’t feel any animosity toward them.”
Littrell said she felt her post-accident problems were compounded by her inquiries to the Rolla Police Department that went unanswered.
“I just didn’t understand why they (Rolla Police Department) wouldn’t get back with me after I had actually gone down to the department twice,” Littrell said.
“I called three or four times after that. No one ever called me back. That’s what made me feel as if something wasn’t being handled right,” Littrell said. “I’m not saying that’s what they were doing, I’m just saying that’s how it made me feel.”
Rolla Police Chief Mark Kears, upon hearing the comment, responded.
“I’d just like to apologize for the fact that no one called her back. I was unaware of the incident until I spoke with you (reporter) on that Monday. Someone should have called her back. We need to increase our manpower so we can serve our citizens better,” Kearse said.
Littrell said she had attempted to obtain a copy of the surveillance video after the accident from Wal-Mart but was informed she would have to get a subpoena to view it.
The Rolla Daily News called Wal-Mart to verify what Littrell had told them and a Wal-Mart employee verified that a copy already had been released to the Rolla Police Department, and it was the store’s policy that anyone other than law enforcement had to go through Wal-Mart’s legal department to obtain a copy.
After an inquiry to the Rolla Police Department by the Rolla Daily News, Littrell was told she could obtain a copy from police.
“It made me feel so much better to actually see the video for myself,” Littrell said. “I don’t know why they didn’t tell me they had it earlier. It answered the questions I had.
“One of the witness’ statements in the police report said that I had fallen and she had run over my arm. I knew that wasn’t what happened, and the video reassured me that I was right.”
A slowed version of the recorded disk, clearly shows Littrell being struck from behind by the right-front quarter-panel, flying up in the air and coming down about one parked car length away.
Littrell said she has no plans to sue anyone for anything.
“I’ve been instructed to reroute the medical bills through my car insurance. I’m not completely sure why it works like this, but I’m relieved to know that everything will be taken care of,” Littrell said.
Littrell and her husband, Greg, are insured by Met Life.
“Of course, that wouldn’t be the case if we hadn’t had insurance,” said Greg Littrell.
Littrell also said she was more than ready to get past what happened and to get on with her life again.
“I never wanted this to turn into such an ordeal,” she said. “I just didn’t know what to do, or where to turn.
“I was so confused by the response I got. I know they’re (RPD) really busy, but you would think that if they knew a deputy sheriff’s wife had hit a pedestrian, sent her to the hospital, and on top of everything else she didn’t have insurance, someone would have wanted to let me know that the situation was being handled properly,” Littrell said.
“It’s hard to know that if no one ever calls you back,” she said.