Tag: car
Tiny Debris Can Be Massive Piece To Solving Fatal Hit-And-Run Crash Cases

Tiny Debris Can Be Massive Piece To Solving Fatal Hit-And-Run Crash Cases

By Tiffany Walden, Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

ORLANDO, Fla. — When traffic investigators arrive at the scene of a fatal hit-and-run — a crime on the rise in Florida — the only clues might be some skid marks, or a few fragments from the car that fled.

What may seem like debris strewn across the highway, however, is investigative gold to traffic-homicide detectives trying to find the car and its driver.

Detectives hit the jackpot in September 2010 while sorting through the pieces of a broken chrome car grille after a driver killed a pedestrian on Landstar Boulevard near State Road 417 in Orange County and kept going.

One of the pieces was imprinted with a part number.

“That grille made for that car was one year only,” said Cpl. Brian Gensler of the Florida Highway Patrol’s Central Florida troop. “Every year, they change the dynamics of cars, so that (grille) was changed on that car.”

The part number led investigators to a black 2004 Cadillac Escalade with a Georgia license plate registered to Edgardo Martinez-Rivera, according to Gensler.

After investigators issued a “be on the lookout” to Florida law enforcement agencies, an Orange County deputy spotted the abandoned car Oct. 11, 2010, while on patrol near the Citrus Bowl — about 20 miles from the crash site.

The paint from the Escalade’s hood matched paint fragments left on the victim’s shirt from the impact of the crash. And a cigarette butt found on the driver’s side of the vehicle provided a DNA sample, court records show.

Martinez-Rivera served 218 days in jail for leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He is on probation until 2022.

“If we don’t have the (hit-and-run) car or the person, we’re looking for debris,” Gensler said. “From there, you’re looking for a serial number or type number from the car. That’s the biggest key if you don’t have the car or the person.

“Soon as (the crash) occurs, the clock is ticking,” Gensler said. “Usually the first 48 hours are critical, collecting and notating all the evidence.”

Such CSI-like techniques are increasingly important as the state contends with an increasing number of fatal and nonfatal hit-and-runs. In 2014, the FHP reported more than 80,000 hit-and-runs in Florida — up 7 percent from 2013.

Bill Barge, a retired 32-year FHP veteran, spends his retirement mentoring and training future traffic-homicide investigators on the science behind solving a hit-and-run.

He said DNA is the most important piece of the puzzle because the biological material — such as fingerprints and blood — can tell investigators exactly who was driving the hit-and-run car at the time of the crash.

“No matter what we do, we have to put (the driver) behind the wheel,” said Barge, 69.

Many times investigators have neither the car nor the driver at the scene. Other times the person responsible for the accident will leave the car behind and flee on foot.

Police say that’s what happened in a recent fatal rollover crash on U.S. Highway 441 in Apopka.

The driver jumped from the car and left his passenger dead inside.

“When we got there, we had a shoe right outside the driver’s door,” Apopka police Officer Ashley Eller said.

Officers eventually found the driver — with the other shoe still on — hiding near a retention pond not far from the scene.

The investigation doesn’t stop there. Detectives still have to find evidence placing the driver behind the wheel in order to have successful prosecution in court.

Eller couldn’t speak about the specifics because of the ongoing investigation.

But Sgt. Steve Gaskins, of FHP’s Tampa region, pointed out the importance of an air bag in a situation like that.

“The air bags are going to have the DNA of the person it struck,” Gaskins said. “All I need to know is who the driver’s air bag hit. That’s the crucial part.”

Barge added that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which processes DNA and other evidence in criminal cases, will use laser technology to pull a shoe print off the accelerator or brake.

Then detectives can match the shoe print to those on the bottom of the suspect’s shoes.

“No evidence is too small,” said Brian Rodriguez, a 16-year officer with the Altamonte Springs Police Department. “If you don’t gather your evidence the proper way, you can lose a case. So everything you do from start to finish is very important.”

Photo: Officer Ashley Eller of Orlando Police Department’s traffic homicide division gestures towards a wrecked vehicle on August 4, 2015. (Tiffany Walden/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

Illinois Lawmaker Wants To Outlaw Wearing Google Glass While Driving

Illinois Lawmaker Wants To Outlaw Wearing Google Glass While Driving

By John Byrne, Chicago Tribune

The future of distracted driving has arrived with the advent of Google Glass, but an Illinois lawmaker wants to outlaw wearing it behind the wheel before drivers start trying to get directions from images hanging directly in front of their eyes.

While the computer interface mounted on an eyeglass frame hasn’t become a common sight on the faces of Illinois residents the way it has on people on the West Coast, state Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, isn’t waiting.

He introduced a bill in the General Assembly that would make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while even wearing a “mobile computing headset” like Google Glass.

Now Google is sending representatives to the General Assembly Tuesday to show lawmakers how the technology works.

“I’m sure they oppose (the ban),” Silverstein said. “They sent me a letter saying they were willing to work with us on this.”

“To me, this is a no-brainer,” Silverstein added. “I think it’s just a safety concern. This is potentially more distracting than texting and driving. It’s in your peripheral vision.”

In response to Silverstein’s proposal, Google released a statement that does not directly address the question of using the technology behind the wheel, but that says the headset is not meant to distract users.

“Glass is built to connect you more with the world around you, not distract you from it,” the statement reads, in part. “We find that when people have first-hand experience using Glass over several days, many feel less, not more distracted by technology.”

Google Glass is not yet available to the general public, though the company is testing it out with consumers in California. Google Glass could hit shelves later this year, the company has said.

Silverstein’s bill is sitting in the Senate Transportation Committee.

In a letter to Silverstein supporting the idea of new legislation specifically aimed at curbing use of Google Glass, an official from Secretary of State Jesse White’s office pointed out that while state law currently prohibits drivers from having video screens or televisions in their line of sight while driving, it isn’t clear that the language would apply to Google Glass-like wearable devices.

Silverstein’s bill comes several months after a judge in California dismissed a ticket issued by state police to a woman who was driving while wearing Google Glass near San Diego. The judge said there was no evidence the device was activated, so it couldn’t be proven that the woman was breaking the law.

Photo: Justin Sullivan via AFP

Nine-Year-Old Steals Car To Avoid Going To School, Police Say

Nine-Year-Old Steals Car To Avoid Going To School, Police Say

By Charles Rabin, The Miami Herald

MIAMI — A nine-year-old Miami Gardens boy was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and grand theft auto Tuesday, after stealing his mother’s car because he didn’t want to go to school.

Miami Gardens police spokesman Michael Wright said that before taking off with the car keys at about 8:15 Tuesday morning, the child threw a brick at his mother and grandmother.

“He took his mom’s keys,” Wright said. “He didn’t want to go to school today.”

The child’s name or school he attends was not known early Tuesday afternoon.

According to Wright, the child took the car, then drove around for about 45 minutes before pulling over when police caught up to him.

Asked if the child appeared to have learned to drive at such a young age, Wright said, “Surprisingly, yes.”

Photo via austinbarrow Flickr