Family of woman who was killed in Independence police chase reaches settlement

The family of a Buckner woman killed last year in an Independence police chase has reached a wrongful-death settlement with her killer and his insurance company.

Sharon Ault, 50, was killed on Sept. 24 when Matthew T. Brooks hit her Dodge Avenger while fleeing Independence police in a stolen pickup truck.

Brooks, 33, was driving the wrong way on the highway to avoid police, traveling south in the northbound lanes of Little Blue Parkway.

Ault’s children and widower will each receive $7,584.05 after lawyers’ fees, court documents show. One of the children is under 18 and had their settlement deposited into a savings account managed by their father, Douglas Ault.

Officers chased Brooks down U.S. 24 as he drove 100 mph, but gave up pursuit when he started driving on the wrong side of the road, according to court documents. Ault, who was driving north on Little Blue Parkway, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Independence police chase more vehicles by far than any other departments in the area, including Kansas City, a nine-month Star investigation found in March.

Rules regulating when Independence police officers can pursue chases are extremely vague, The Star investigation found. It’s common for chases by Independence officers to reach over 100 mph, as the chase that killed Sharon Ault did.

Ault’s five children, along with her husband, Castulo Guzman Vasquez, were named in the wrongful-death lawsuit, which was brought by Ault’s daughter Jessica Oluobo. The family sued for $51,000, court documents show, since that was the amount for which Ault was insured against damages inflicted by an uninsured driver.

Ault, who grew up in Independence and lived in Buckner, was close with her family and loved crafting, fairs and Disney World.

Family mourns ‘amazing’ Buckner woman who died after a truck fleeing police struck her car

Though the settlement means he cannot be taken to trial by the Ault family, Brooks is still headed to a jury trial in January. He was charged with second-degree murder, resisting arrest and tampering with a vehicle — all felonies — in November, according to court documents.

Ault had been represented by the Standard Fire Insurance Co. Brooks was uninsured at the time of the crash, according to court documents. He is now represented by Travelers Indemnity Co.

A fundraiser created after Ault’s death raised $2,075 toward funeral expenses.