A man has sued a North Carolina state trooper for allegedly punching and dragging him across concrete after suffering an epileptic seizure that apparently caused him to crash his car.

Thomas Simmons, who says he suffers from epilepsy, is accusing Sgt. Ashley Smith with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol of disability-based discrimination, using excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and even falsely indicating he was driving impaired.

Simmons was 44 years old when, on May 25, 2024, he was driving a car on Highway 33 in Greenville as part of his job delivering items to customers for Walmart. According to the lawsuit , he began having an epileptic seizure, lost consciousness and control, sideswiped another car and crashed into a utility pole.

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