Families of victims in Warren police car crash file $100 million lawsuit
WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The families of the two men killed in a crash involving a Warren police squad car last week are filing a $100 million lawsuit against the department.
The families of Cedric Hayden Jr. and DeJuan Pettis are seeking to hold the Warren Police Department accountable for what they're calling "negligence" on behalf of the officers involved in the crash on Sept. 30. They've watched the surveillance video that captures the moment the squad car barreled through the victims' Dodge Durango, questioning what they've heard from police so far.
Fieger Law claims surveillance video, along with expert witness interviews, gives a clearer picture of what happened at the corner of Schoenherr and Prospect in Warren, but it doesn't bring back best friends 34-year-old Cedric Hayden or 33-year-old DeJuan Pettis.
"My dad can't watch me graduate. He can't walk me down the aisle at my wedding when I'm older. We deserve an apology," said Hayden's daughter, Lynnira Hayden.
Warren police say the crash wasn't caused by the squad car being involved in a high-speed chase, even though the lawsuit claims the vehicle was traveling at or above 100 miles per hour. It also claims the squad car failed to activate any lights or sirens in the dark.
"It was like a bullet shot out of a rifle. The information that we have from our investigation is at or above 100 miles an hour in a forty-mile-an-hour roadway," said the plaintiff's attorney, James J. Harrington IV.
Both families are now seeking $100 million in damages in identical lawsuits.
"Our last words were 'I love you.' I didn't want those to be our last words. Those weren't supposed to be our last words to each other. He was just going home. I can't look in the mirror, I can't walk nowhere without seeing him," said Hayden's father, Cedric Hayden Sr.
The men were on their way home from their jobs at GM and Chrysler. Hayden was only two blocks from making it there when the two close friends lost their lives.
The Warren Police Department says both officers are now in stable condition and on administrative leave, which is common during investigations involving life-threatening injuries or deaths.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Office says it will take at least one more week before they're ready to release their findings