CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

A Compton woman who suffered brain damage after she was struck by a speeding police vehicle will be paid $4.5 million in a settlement approved Wednesday by the City Council.

Sandra Griffin, 45, was in a coma for a week after a Los Angeles police car swerved to avoid another vehicle and broadsided her car, which was parked on the side of the street, according to her attorneys.

Family members said Griffin, a single mother of two daughters, struggled from physical and emotional injuries and had to be cared for after the 2006 incident.

The city council vote follows a jury verdict last year , which awarded the woman $6.9 million. Griffin’s attorney, Joseph Barrett, said they decided to settle the lawsuit rather than risk being overturned on appeal.

Victoria Kim