Woman considers legal action after crash with cop headed to Springfield Walmart

Attorney David Ransin said his client is lucky to be alive after she was involved in a crash with a police officer who was rushing toward last week's gun incident at a Springfield Walmart store.

Ransin said 74-year-old Rosemary Melton suffered a broken neck, crushed elbow and broken hips when she was involved in a crash with a Battlefield police vehicle this past Thursday.

As Melton is recovering in the intensive care unit, the Battlefield grandma is also exploring her legal options against the city of Battlefield and possibly Dmitriy Andreychenko — the man who allegedly caused mass panic by walking into the Walmart Neighborhood Market on West Republic Road with a rifle, handgun, tactical vest and 100 rounds of ammo.

"This fellow pulled this stunt without any regard for the health and safety of others in our community," Ransin told the News-Leader on Wednesday.

The incident at the southwest Springfield Walmart came less than a week after a gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

Andreychenko, 20, was charged with making a terrorist threat. He allegedly told police he did not intend to shoot up the store but was instead testing whether Walmart "honored the Second Amendment." Prosecutors say Andreychenko's actions were reckless and not protected by Missouri's gun laws.

Police say the initial calls to the Walmart store last week relayed that there was an "active shooter" at the store, prompting a huge police response.

Battlefield, which has a mutual aid agreement with Springfield police, had some of its officers — including Shannon Marler — respond to the store.

As Marler was headed to the store, a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol says Melton pulled into the path of Marler's patrol vehicle, and the two SUVs crashed on Route FF. Melton suffered serious injuries, and Officer Marler went to the hospital with moderate injuries.

Battlefield Police Chief Chris McPhail told the News-Leader last week that to the best of his knowledge, Marler's emergency lights and sirens were activated at the time of the crash.

Ransin said he's not so sure, and that is one of many aspects of the crash his office plans to investigate.

"I believe we're going to find out that the response was not within the rules and regulations," Ransin said. "We have those rules and regulations to maintain the safety of everyone in our community."

Ransin said his office is still in the fact-gathering stage and no lawsuits have been filed.

Meanwhile, Andreychenko posted bond and was released from the Greene County Jail as his criminal case moves through the court system.

Andreychenko told KY3 news on Monday that he did not intend to harm anyone and he even called Walmart in advance to make sure that he would be OK to carry a rifle into the store. He said he regretted the timing of his actions.

The Springfield Police Department is asking anyone who was present at the Walmart during the incident and was not contacted by an officer at the scene or has not had a chance to talk with a detective to contact the Springfield Police Department by calling (417) 864-1810 or by emailing SPDMail@SpringfiledMO.gov.