California inmate who miscarried after deputies stopped for coffee reaches $480K settlement

(KTLA) – A pregnant inmate in California who lost her baby after sheriff’s deputies stopped at a Starbucks while driving her to a hospital in 2016 has reached a $480,000 settlement in the case.

Sandra Quinones, who is no longer in custody, was awarded the settlement during an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting in a unanimous vote on Aug. 23.

On March 28, 2016, Quinones pushed the call button in her jail cell when her water broke on March 28, but no jail staff responded for two hours, the Associated Press reported, citing her federal lawsuit.

She was then given a ride to Anaheim Global Medical Center in a patrol car instead of an ambulance, but not until deputies stopped for coffee at a local Starbucks, the lawsuit alleged.

When Quinones finally reached the hospital, her fetus did not survive.

The lawsuit accused deputies of acting with “deliberate indifference” toward Quinones’ civil rights and her medical condition, the Orange County Register reported.

Her lawyer, Dick Herman, told the Register that Quinones is homeless and mentally ill.

The $480,000 settlement must still be formally accepted before it becomes final.

“This poor woman, she’s in jail having a miscarriage and, instead of calling an ambulance, they take her to the hospital in a patrol car and the cops stop at Starbucks while she’s bleeding,” Herman told the Register.

Sheriff’s officials have declined to comment on the settlement, the AP reported.