Woman suing City of Tempe, ex-Tempe police officer after she lost unborn baby in crash

TEMPE, Ariz. - The City of Tempe, along with a man who once served on the city's police force, are facing a lawsuit.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is an East Valley woman who lost her unborn baby because of a crash involving the officer.

Crash happened in May 2024

The backstory:

The crash happened on May 24, 2024. At the time, Jade Shone was planning for the birth of her first-born, a baby girl she had planned to name Isla.

"For a long time, I never really thought about having children, and for a while I didn't think I was able to," Shone recounted. "But then, finding out the news that we were expecting was exciting."

Shone said she had a green light, and was driving into the intersection at Dobson Road and Broadway in Mesa when she was hit by a Tempe Police vehicle that was being driven by Zachary Hyde. Police report from the wreck states that Hyde had his emergency lights on when entering the intersection, but it is unknown how long they were on before the crash.

In the lawsuit, Shone claims that Hyde failed to conduct a proper check to be sure the intersection was clear before he entered the intersection on a red light, and failed to drive with the regard for the safety of all persons.

Shone said she had several injuries from the crash, and worse of all, she received devastating news about Isla.

"I realized something was wrong when we were at the hospital, and they had told me that I had started contracting and that they believe that they had seen some of the placenta already kind of start to detach," said Shone.

The next few hours were gut-wrenching for both Shone and her partner.

What She Said:

"After finding out that she was gone and no longer had a heartbeat, the rest of that night, I just kind of sat there with my thoughts and just really thought, you know, she's not coming home with us," said Shone. "They had asked me if I had wanted to hold her, and of course I did, so seeing her for the first time was both a happy moment for me, but also a very sad one."

Reason for Hyde's departure from Tempe Police revealed

Hyde is no longer employed with the Tempe Police Department, after he was arrested for a DUI in an incident that happened after the wreck with Shone.

What they're saying:

"In July 2024, then-Officer Hyde was arrested by DPS while off-duty and charged with driving under the influence. The Tempe Police Department immediately placed Hyde on administrative leave pending a departmental investigation. The statement we released then noted: ‘Any time a criminal investigation is brought to our attention about one of our officers, we take the matter very seriously,’" read a portion of Tempe Police's statement. "Hyde is no longer employed by TPD."

Tempe Police officials said as the city is part of the civil suit, they cannot comment more on the incident. Hyde's lawyer also told us on Feb. 7 that Hyde will not be making any statements in reference to either case.

Shone weighs in on lawsuit

As for Shone, she said she has moved into a stage of acceptance about losing her first baby, but calls the lawsuit her chance for justice for Isla.

"I just kinda wanna know what was going on at the time, and if he is remorseful, and I want him to know that I have been through a lot, and I still am dealing with a lot afterwards," said Shone.