AUSTIN (KXAN) – On April 22, an Austin police officer turned on his lights and sirens, crossed over a median and entered the intersection at Brodie Lane and West William Cannon Drive, dash camera video and a crash report shows. A pickup truck then slammed into the side of the police SUV.

Two passengers in the truck that hit the Austin Police Department vehicle are now suing the city of Austin, their driver, and the officer driving the SUV, who Austin Police confirm was on a high-priority call at the time of the crash.

Christopher Renfro and Graciela Renfro say they were in the truck and that Austin Police Officer Michael Nguyen, the driver of the SUV, was negligent for crossing a median, entering an intersection that was not clear, and failing to brake and avoid the collision.

“I look up and just impact,” said Gracie Renfro. “I really didn’t get a good look at what was going on.”

The Renfros also say they suffered injuries, including Christopher re-injuring his collar bone, which the lawsuit states was originally injured when an IED, or roadside bomb, went off while he was serving in the military in Iraq. The lawsuit states Gracie also sprained her ankle and injured her foot.

“We have medical bills pilling up, it’s coming down to the point where we have to decide: am I going to go to a doctor’s appointment or get some groceries,” said Christopher Renfro.

The lawsuit also alleges the city refuses to accept responsibility for the crash. Although they view the officer and the city as mainly responsible, Christopher Renfro and Graciela Renfro are also suing their driver, Jason Roche.

Roche’s attorney released the following statement:

The Austin police department has a duty to protect the safety of its citizens. In emergencies, police officers owe a greater duty of care to all drivers on the road because that is what their training is intended to prepare them for. Here we have a case of an officer who was negligent in going through an intersection at a red light, crossing across the median to the wrong side of the road, and entering the intersection without checking for oncoming traffic. He breached his duty to everyone on the road that night. As a result, we would expect Austin PD to investigate this officers’ training and admit to their role in this awful accident, unfortunately four months later nothing has been done. Our client was not negligent or responsible, and he was severely injured in this accident. This accident has taken a toll on his entire life and that of his family.

A Texas Department of Transportation Crash report obtained by KXAN indicates the officer was driving with lights and sirens and responding to a call about a man threatening people with knives in a parking lot.

Later that night, an officer would shoot and kill a 29-year-old man who police say ran at the officer with knives in his hands. That happened at around 10:22 p.m. The crash at Brodie and William Cannon happened at 9:21 p.m., according to police and dashboard camera video.

Before the shooting, police say they were alerted to a man with a knife at the Dollar General in the 700 block of W. Stassney Lane. It is unclear if this is the call the officer in the crash was heading toward. However, the Dollar General store was in the direction the Officer Nguyen was heading and the timing of the call matches APD’s previous statements.

The crash report also indicated the officer was operating under Code 3.Austin Police Department’s Code 3 policy:

(a) When operating Code 3, officers may: 1. Exceed the speed limit but must regulate their speed so as not to endanger life or property. 2. Proceed with caution through traffic signals and stop signs after slowing and, if necessary, stopping to ensure the intersection is safe/clear. 3. Disregard laws governing direction of movement and turning when it can be done safely

“[It’s true that the officer had lights and sirens on] and that’s why he gets the extraordinary right that other driver’s don’t have to go through red lights and to do other things, but they still have to do it in a way that’s prudent and careful, looking out for public safety and not in a reckless way, which is what we have in this case,” said the Renfro’s attorney Carlos Soltero. “I think this is one of the exceptional cases.”

The crash report showed no injuries at the scene and APD confirms the officer was not injured. Voices on the dash cam video can be heard saying they are not injured and do not need EMS assistance. However, it is not clear who those people are. The Renfros say they were harmed in the crash.

“We are aware of the lawsuit and are prepared to defend the City and the Officers,” City of Austin spokesperson David Green wrote in a statement to KXAN.

Raw dash cam video of the crash