WARREN (WWJ) — A $100 million lawsuit has been filed against the Warren Police Department a week after a deadly crash involving a police vehicle.
Cedric Hayden, Jr. of Warren and DeJuan Pettis of Detroit were killed in the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 30 while they were on their way home from work. Authorities have said a Warren police SUV slammed into a Dodge Durango driven by Hayden at the intersection of Schoenherr and Prospect as the friends were making a turn.
While the investigation remains ongoing, it has not been determined why the officers were traveling at what lawyers say were speeds upwards of 100 mph. Police officials have said since last Monday the officers were not involved in a chase at the time of the crash.
Hayden, 34, and Pettis, 33, were killed, while two officers inside the SUV were rushed to the hospital. The officers have since been placed on leave while they recover.
Fieger Law on Monday announced the lawsuit against the Warren Police Department and said it will be “the first of many” against the department.
Attorneys say security footage from along Schoenherr between 8 Mile and 9 Mile shows the police car was speeding without any lights on when it crashed into the Durango.
Attorneys are also demanding dash camera footage from the police vehicle be released.
The families of the victims want answers as to why the crash happened in the first place.
“At the end of the day, he’s not here and I want him back. That’s my son. And I want (DeJuan) back. That’s his best friend. He was a son to me too. I need them back in my life right now,” said Cedrick Hayden, Sr., speaking at a press conference Monday.
“I just want the world to know, I don’t know why they did what they did, fast and furious driving down Schoennher. But it wasn’t my son’s fault. He was just going home. That’s all he was doing, was going home,” Hayden said.
Hayden’s sister doesn’t understand why police don’t have more answers for the families.
“Y’all out here doing 100 mph in the middle of the night, in the morning. How is that safe, with no lights on? It’s not worth it,” she said. “We lost two innocent people. Did you ever find the person you were looking for or the reason you were doing 100 that night? Or are we still rolling with ‘there was no pursuit going on at the time, the officers were just drag racing?’”