JOLIET – A Joliet man is suing a police sergeant, the police department and the city for a car crash that left him injured.

On Monday, Phillip A. Penton, 70, of the 600 block of Cornelia Street in Joliet filed a lawsuit claiming that Joliet Police Sgt. Paul Moeller was negligent when he struck his car on April 18, 2017.

Penton is accusing Moeller and city and police officials of negligence. He is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from each of them.

Penton was charged on the day of the incident with making an improper left turn into oncoming traffic and operating an uninsured motor vehicle, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to the first charge while the latter was dropped. He was fined $275 and sentenced to three months of court supervision.

Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said in an email Tuesday that he was not aware of the lawsuit yet, but confirmed Moeller is a police sergeant. He deferred to the city’s legal department because it appeared to be pending litigation.

Calls and messages to City Attorney Martin Shanahan and Inspector General Chris Regis were not returned Wednesday.

Penton alleges in his lawsuit that about 7:52 a.m. April 18, 2017, Moeller was driving a car east on Jefferson Street west of Prairie Avenue.

Penton was driving his car and was facing west on Jefferson Street, the suit said. He stopped in the middle turning lane of the street and tried to make a left turn into the parking lot of Auto Doc Joliet, 912 W. Jefferson St., it said.

However, Moeller hit Penton’s car and “caused injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature,” the suit said.

The lawsuit accuses Moeller of not keeping “proper and sufficient lookout” while driving; failing to give an audible warning with a horn; failing to avoid a collision; and driving at a speed that was “greater than reasonable and proper with regard to traffic conditions and the use of the highway.”